Crash and Burn
by Caitlin51
Summary: After a lab accident, Jemma Simmons discovered that she had developed a form of supernatural powers. She couldn't deal with this new discovery alone, so she searches out others like her. Namely, the the fiery Grant Ward. BioSpecialist AU, companion fic to "Monsters in your Head" by therealshawn.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: Hello everyone! So, I decided that even though the BioSpecialist ship is pretty much dead, I'm still going to write what should have been. Anyway, this will be an AU featuring superpowers (as per the summary)._

_IMPORTANT NOTE: This fic is co-authored by __**therealshawn**__, and she and I are also co-authoring the other side of this fic on her account. It is called __**"Monsters in your Head" **__and shows this same story from the Skitz viewpoint. I strongly suggest reading them both! This fic will be a complete story by itself, as will the other one, but they will complement each other, give you scenes that you normally wouldn't see, and give you large parts of the story that happen when the characters are split up._

_Anyway, enjoy this first chapter and leave a review!_

* * *

The music coming through the iPod speakers soothed Jemma as she stood in the bathtub, letting the warm water wash off the chemical decontaminant still coating her skin.

It had been quite a day. First, her experiment had failed after countless days of testing, so she had been forced to stay in the lab late to try and isolate the problem. Well, not forced, but she knew that she wouldn't be able to take her mind off the issue and focus on anything else until she had figured out what had gone so terribly wrong..

Fitz, being that good friend he was, had stayed with her, and that's when things had become even worse.

"You already showered at the lab. I don't see what shampoo is going to do that the soap there didn't."

Fitz's voice, coming from outside the door, startled her and she nearly slipped, but caught herself with a hand on the side of the tub. "Go away, Fitz," she ordered, though without malice. She had showered in the lab after the rather spectacular explosion, (which was obviously Fitz's fault), but she could still smell the acrid scent of decontaminant in her hair. And besides, the warm spray was soothing after the stress of failure and a long, hard day.

The sound of Fitz slamming cabinets in the kitchen broke into her concentration and she sighed, realizing that he was probably going to need her help soon.

Reluctantly, she turned the water off and stepped out of the shower, automatically reaching for the fluffy brown towel she always kept hanging on the hook right outside the bathtub.

"Jemma!" Fitz bellowed from the living room. "Did you move the popcorn again?"

She rolled her eyes and shouted back, "One second, Fitz." She wrapped the large towel around her body, leaving her wet hair loose and dripping on her shoulders.

Changing into the fresh clothes she had brought into the bathroom with her - just sweats and a loose T-shirt - she looked into the mirror and took a deep, calming breath. It frustrated her that she still couldn't figure out the problem with her experiment, and, no matter what she did, she just couldn't let it lie.

Turning on the ceiling fan to defog the mirror and yanking a comb through her wet, tangled hair, she strolled out of the bathroom and into the living room, her eyes automatically landing on her bag, resting on the couch. Her detailed notes on the experiment and the explosion were there, and she wanted to take another look now that she had fresh eyes.

Fitz gaped at her from his position on the couch in front of the TV. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw "Agents of SHIELD" playing on ABC. She gave him a funny look in response to his expression, but he didn't seem to notice.

Defensively, she reached for her bag and told him, "I'm just going to go over the experiment one more time, and then we can watch your silly show." She plopped down on the couch next to him as she pulled out the folder containing her research and observations.

His eyes only widened, if that was possible. "Er, Jemma?"

"Oh come on, Fitz, I said this was the last time," she replied, crossing her arms in front of her. "And then I promise that I'll put it down. Okay?"

"No, uh, Jemma, I think that-"

"-I'll be really fast, Fitz, I promise," she interrupted, the folder already open on her lap.

He cut her off, pointing impatiently at her right side, "Your arm, Jemma!"

Narrowing her eyes in confusion, Jemma glanced down at her arms and gasped in surprise as she noticed only one was visible. "Oh no," she muttered in dismay. "That's not right."

"Not right? Jemma, your arm is gone! I don't - what happened?"

"I can still feel it," she continued, ignoring him and wiggling her invisible arm. The folder slid off her lap, but she barely noticed. "It's never done that before."

Fitz threw his arms up in exasperation. "Oh, well that's okay then. As long it's never happened before then it's totally - -Jemma! Your _arm _is _missing_!Could you please quit being so calm?"

"I wonder," she mumbled thoughtfully, focusing her attention on her invisible appendage and trying to figure out if she could isolate the cause and possibly even replicate it, all thoughts of the failed experiment vanishing from her mind.

"Yes, well, I wonder, too. But I am experiencing a healthy amount of panic, and not just gazing at my nonexistent arm like it's the best thing since CERN invented the Large Hadron Collider." He continued muttering something about "crazy biochemists," but she easily tuned him out.

"This is amazing," she breathed, as her other arm also vanished as she turned her attention to it. "Could I be doing something to the light particles in my immediate vicinity? That seems unlikely, but no other hypotheses are coming to mind." Fitz and everything else around her faded into the background as she pondered the fascinating phenomenon in front of her. "I have to get back to the lab," she finally announced.

Fitz's irritated grumbling followed her out the door.

**...Two Weeks Later…**

"So, we can cross Sally Markson off our list," Jemma sighed and scratched the name of their latest lead off the paper in front of her. The list now contained more black sharpie marks than names.

"Jemma, I hate to be discouraging," she shot him a pointed look, but he continued anyway, "but that's the thirty-seventh 'lead' we've had that's turned out to be nothing. We've been all over the state looking for something that might not even be there."

"It will be," she promised. She took a bite of the ceasar salad in front of her and chewed slowly, gathering her thoughts. Finally, she added, "Just think, Fitz, about the chance we have. This is groundbreaking research, of course it's gonna take a bit of effort. And besides, we still have three names to go." She kept her tone positive, not wanting Fitz to see that she was feeling slightly disappointed in their progress as well. After all, they had been dedicated to this project for a full two weeks already without so much as a breakthrough.

"G. Thomas. Suspected pyrokinesis. Last known...Jemma, this report is eighteen years old," Fitz pulled the notebook from her and started to read the next item on her list around the half-chewed fry in his mouth, but stopped as he realized that there was even less on Thomas than there had been on Markson, and Markson had died five years ago.

"But our next best lead," she insisted firmly. "The others have even less information than this one."

"You do realize that just because other files have 'even less information' that doesn't make this one a solid lead, right? Jemma, I just think you're going to be disappointed when none of this pans out." She knew that Fitz was just being his usual, pragmatic self, but there was a part of her that resented the fact that he wasn't nearly as excited about this project as she was.

She leaned in, her eyes bright. "No, Fitz, I have a feeling about this one. Please? If he doesn't work out, we can take a break." _At least for a little while_, she amended her statement silently. In light of recent events, this wasn't something that she could just give up on, especially if there was still a chance of success. A slim chance, admittedly, but a chance nonetheless.

Fitz sighed dramatically and pointed to Thomas' name. "Okay, fine. But this is the last one.

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_Please review!_


	2. Chapter 2

_A/N: Yay, we're back with Chapter 2! I promise that Ward will actually be in the next chapter and then things will start heating up and getting really fun..._

_IMPORTANT NOTE: This fic is co-authored by __**therealshawn**__, and she and I are also co-authoring the other side of this fic on her account. It is called __**"Monsters in your Head" **__and shows this same story from the Skitz viewpoint. I strongly suggest reading them both! This fic will be a complete story by itself, as will the other one, but they will complement each other, give you scenes that you normally wouldn't see, and give you large parts of the story that happen when the characters are split up._

_Anyway, enjoy!_

* * *

"Anything? An address? A neighbourhood, even?" Jemma knew that she was grasping at straws, but this visiting his childhood neighbourhood was her last lead on G. Thomas.

The wrinkly man shook his head, his eyes sad. "Sorry. Can't help you."

"No, I don't think you understand. We _have _to find him. It's a matter of the utmost urgency." It really was, at least to Jemma. Finding the tiny little town of Ward, NY had taken a fair amount of time and she didn't know what the next step would be if this town didn't pan out.

"What, he owe you money or something?"

"Or something." Fitz piped up. She could tell that he was eager to get out of there.

"Do you at least have some idea of where else we could look?" Trying hard to keep the exasperation out of her voice, Jemma tried one last question.

"Listen, last I heard the boy was living in the City. Up near Brooklyn. But that was ten years ago," he said, sighing and obviously ready to end the conversation.

Jemma cast a hopeful look at Fitz as the old man shoved his hands in his pockets and stared off into space, obviously wishing they would leave his tiny book shop. "Finally, our first real lead."

As the old man obviously was not going to offer them any more information and was practically sweeping them out the door, Jemma didn't fight to get him to open up with information that she suspected he was withholding.

Fitz thanked the shopkeeper as the door banged closed behind him, but Jemma barely noticed.

"Well, that went well," there was real excitement in her voice. "I knew that someone here had to recognize him."

"Yeah, this is...really great. We've now narrowed it down to 'possibly up near Brooklyn'."

"Oh, perk up Fitz. We've finally found something concrete to go on." She didn't expect him to be particularly excited about this process, but it frustrated her that he refused to do more than follow along behind her and complain.

"So what's the next step? We can't just canvass neighborhoods," Fitz pointed out, his voice hopeful - not hope for their search, but hope that she would give up on her mission. She knew him too well to be fooled.

She smiled smugly. "No, but I know where we could go."

…

"Miss, I'm sorry, I really don't think I'm allowed to-"

"-but I would _really_ appreciate _anything_ you could do," she batted her eyelashes in her best attempt at flirtation. It felt ridiculous. "You see, he's my ex and he kept my favourite...my favourite," she wracked her brain for something that would make sense for a former boyfriend to keep, "hat." Mentally, she smacked herself, but there was nothing she could do about it now. "Yes, my favourite hat, and I just need to find him and get it back. It's an heirloom." She flashed him a winning smile, hoping to hide her pathetic lying skills.

"I understand, ma'am, I really do, I just," he tentatively and awkwardly reached out and patted her arm. "But I don't want to risk my job or anything." He tapped the police badge on his police uniform proudly with one finger.

She leaned over onto his desk and smiled even more widely, if that was possible. She pushed all thoughts from her mind about how much of an idiot she probably looked like right now. At least Fitz was still in the bathroom and wouldn't see her. "I won't tell," she promised softly, leaning towards him. "And besides, I like men who can bend a little rule like that. Sometimes. I mean, most of the time, I really like rules, but," she finally cut herself off, realizing that she was babbling, "It's...hot?"

Despite her awkwardness, the officer smiled secretively at her and winked slowly. "In return for your number?"

Jemma had to stop herself from starting in surprise that her plan had worked. "Er, what? I mean, yes," she corrected herself, returning his wink. "Yes. My number. To call me." She laughed and picked up a pad of paper on his desk and scrawled her number on it along with her first name.

"Any luck?" The sound of Fitz's voice startled her and she whirled around.

"Fitz! What have I told you about sneaking on me?" she admonished. She gestured at the man behind the desk and flashed him a huge smile. "And yes, this nice young officer is going to help us find... my ex."

Fitz looked confused, but fortunately didn't question her story.

"So Miss Simmons, who's this? Your brother?" the officer asked. There was a tinge of jealousy in his voice.

Jemma raised her eyebrow and was about to say no, but then she realized that would just ruin all the flirting she had just worked so hard to do. "Yes!" she blurted out. "This is my Fitz. I mean...my brother. My brother, Fitz. Fitz...Simmons…"

"I-" Fitz started to say indignantly, but she stomped on his foot. Hard. "Yes! I am...Fitz Simmons. Nice to meet you," he added with only a touch of resentment in his voice.

With a wink at Jemma, the cop pointedly ignored the hand Fitz offered and said, "So, Jemma_, _let me, uh, see what I can find for you. I'll be back in just a second."

"You're a life-saver," she praised him, forcing herself to sound peppy.

The officer nodded at her and walked off jauntily.

"So, _Jemma,_" Fitz emphasized her name, "what was that all about?"

"Oh nothing," she deflected the question, avoiding Fitz's gaze. "I was just convincing him to...share the files that we need."

"And how did you convince him?"

"I...was friendly? And smiled?" she tried to say convincingly, but she didn't even believe herself. "Most people are really cooperative when you're nice. You should try it sometime!"

"You gave him your number, didn't you?"

"I...no, of course not!"

The young officer returned, a black file in his hands. "Hello, again," he grinned charmingly. So...I have a file here on suspicious, unexplained fires and fire-related events in north Brooklyn. Unfortunately, I have to go on break right now. And I'm not going to take this file with me. I'm going to leave it on the desk," the file hit the desk with a thump, "but that in no way means that you should open it. I have to caution you, that file is official police property, and under no circumstances should you pay particular attention to the incident report on pages four through six." He crossed his arms over his chest and waited expectantly.

"Of course not. We understand completely," Jemma nodded, her hands itching to grab the file and find the information she needed.

"But you should…" the officer continued, clearing his throat noisily,"Uh...you should be expecting a phone call. About...dinner. A very important phone call about dinner."

"Er, yes," she agreed, very pointedly not looking at Fitz. "I'm looking-" she cut herself off as she realized that the man had already walked away. "Okay, then. The file."

Trying not to look suspicious, Jemma casually flipped open the file to the pages he had indicated, her eyes rapidly scanning the words to find the relevant information. The chances of finding G. Thomas were slim, but she was somehow still hopeful that this would be the break that she needed. One particular address caught her gaze and she read the description of the the incident. Something about the witness's statement... Sucking in a deep breath, she commented, "Look Fitz, there," she stabbed the page with her finger triumphantly. "This is him. I just know it!"

...

It was getting worse.

The flames rose around him, licking at the exposed skin of his forearms and heating his internal temperature far above what was considered normal.

It should hurt.

It didn't. Not physically, at least. It was the raging emotions churning inside him that were much more painful, much more terrifying. The lack of control, the anger, the fear.

The fire engulfed him entirely.

* * *

_Please leave a review!_


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far! Here's Chapter 3 - enjoy! _

_IMPORTANT NOTE: This fic is co-authored by __**therealshawn**__, and she and I are also co-authoring the other side of this fic on her account. It is called __**"Monsters in your Head" **__and shows this same story from the Skitz viewpoint. I strongly suggest reading them both! This fic will be a complete story by itself, as will the other one, but they will complement each other, give you scenes that you normally wouldn't see, and give you large parts of the story that happen when the characters are split up._

_Anyway, enjoy!_

* * *

She knocked loudly on the door, feeling the peeling paint scratch her knuckles, already sore from knocking on what felt like millions of doors. "This has to be it, Fitz," she repeated what she had been telling him for the past two hours. "And this one even smells like smoke."

"I think that might be the man with the cigarette, but okay."

"Positive attitude, Fitz," she scolded. "It's only the third floor; we can't give up yet." The faded gold letters glinting in the weak evening light next to the door informed them that they were standing in front of 305.

"Maybe they didn't hear you." Fitz knocked again on the door.

"Can I help you?" A low voice broke into their conversation.

"Oh, erm, yes." Jemma turned and saw a tall, powerfully built man standing behind them. He radiated an intensity that immediately unnerved her. However, she refused to be put off her goal that easily. "Do you live here?"

"Why?"

"Well, we're looking for someone," she smiled, trying to make the stranger warm up to her, and pulled out the faded newspaper picture. "Have you seen him?"

The man didn't even glance at the photograph. "No." He brushed past them and jammed his key into the lock, then turned the doorknob with considerably more force than necessary.

"His name's G. Thomas," Jemma continued, eager to get some information before he disappeared into his apartment. "Does that sound familiar?" The man's unreasonable agitation suggested to her that he knew more than he was letting on.

"Never heard of him."

"You didn't look."

The man turned to glare at her. "Leave me alone," he ordered, his voice cold, but Jemma could hear the thinly-veiled irritation behind the command.

"Look," she tried, changing tactics, "it's really important that he find him. He has...he has a problem." She bit her lip, trying to think of the best way to describe their urgency without giving anything away. "And I think I may be able to help him."

Conflicting emotions struggled across the man's face and he seemed to almost waver, but then the expressionless mask was back in the blink of an eye. "Can't help you."

The door slammed in her face.

"That...went well."

"He's hiding something. No one is that...disagreeable. Not without a reason."

"Or maybe he just has a borderline personality disorder." She shot him a sharp look, clearly indicating her disapproval of his negativity. "Come on. One more apartment before dinner?"

She nodded. There was still a chance that they could find G. Thomas before the end of the day, and she planned to succeed.

…

His hands were shaking. That was always the first sign.

Sparks appeared, dancing around his knuckles and illuminating his immediate vicinity, a sharp contrast to the darkness of the small apartment.

Anxious to regain control, he stood up from his seat on the small, battered couch and started pacing angrily around the living room with angry strides. It helped to focus his aggression on something else. Anything else.

"_His name's G. Thomas," _the woman's words came back to him. He hadn't gone by that name for a long time, but the sound of it had still set him off; he had nearly lost control right then and there and incinerated both of them. They didn't even know how close to a fiery death they had come.

"_He has...he has a problem." _Well, he couldn't contest that one, not if he was being honest.

His hands were completely engulfed in flames now, but he barely even noticed. It was normal enough now that it didn't draw his attention anymore.

"_And I think I may be able to help him._" There was a part of him that wanted to believe her, to believe that she really could somehow help him. But logically, he knew that there was nothing she could do. She was just some pretty girl who was too curious for her own good and was poking her nose around in other people's business. Chances are, she was going to get hurt if she kept it up.

The flames traveled up his arms, flaring even brighter as they fed on the material of his cheap black shirt.

For some reason, the thought of her getting hurt upset him. But that was ridiculous. She was nothing to him. At least, she should be absolutely nothing to him. But, there was something about her that drew him in, that intrigued him in a way that was strange and unfamiliar.

Throwing that name around in such a careless manner was going to attract the attention of some pretty nasty people, people who wouldn't believe that she had no idea what she was getting herself into. People who would hurt her, or even kill her, with next to no provocation. And that little geek she was with wouldn't be able to do a thing to stop them.

Taking a deep breath, the man glanced outside the window, realizing that the sun had set a few minutes earlier and that the streets were bathed in darkness. All the streetlights in this part of town had long since burned out.

Guilt gnawed at him. A girl that pretty and defenseless, out in these streets at night, was practically asking for a mugging. Or worse.

The fire dancing over his skin vanished as suddenly as it had appeared. Glancing down, he noticed that it was only the sleeves of his shirt that had been charred away and a couple small patches on his side. Good enough.

He left his apartment and went out into the night, keeping his ears open for any sign of shady activity.

He never claimed to be a good guy. But sometimes, even the bad guys have to do the right thing.

...

"Fitz, do you see that man? Is he following us? Nervously, Jemma checked over her shoulder, feeling the skin on the back of her neck crawl as she caught sight of the shadowy figure that had been tailing them ever since they left the apartment building.

"I think so, actually. I noticed him a couple minutes ago." "He's scaring me," she admitted, holding her purse closer to her body and walking more quickly. Her car wasn't that much further, but the alley felt like it stretched out endlessly in front of her, shadowed and ominous.

*trying to be reassuring but secretly panicking* "Maybe he's just walking to the same place we are."

"Yeah," she agreed breathily, shooting another anxious glance behind them. "I'm sure that's it. I mean, I sometimes wear all black as well, so that's not necessarily cause to panic and assume he's a serial killer."

"Yeah."

They walked for a while in silence, Jemma gratefully noticing and pointing out to Fitz that the man who she thought was following them had vanished. She had barely voiced that thought when a filthy young man stepped out of the shadows and directly into their path. In one shaky hand, he gripped a knife, which he waved at Jemma. "Give me your purse." Then he gestured at Fitz, "And I want your wallet. And your watch. Give me your watch, too."

"Fitz?" Jemma asked, feeling panic well up inside, replacing her brief period of complacency.

"No talking," the man snapped, waving his knife hand wildly. "Just hand it over."

Beside her, Fitz brought his wallet out of his pocket and handed it to the mugger, then started fiddling with the clasp on his watch.

With trembling fingers, Jemma started to hand over her purse, but then her eyes widened as she noticed that her arm was invisible. "Oh no," she breathed, quickly shifting her purse to her other hand and hiding the invisible one behind her back. Even as she stared at her left arm, it slowly faded into nothingness as well.

It took a moment for the man in front of them to notice, but as she dropped her purse and hid her other arm behind her back too, she saw his eyes widen. His hands started to shake even more, and he jabbed the knife towards her with renewed aggression. "What are you doing?"

"N...nothing," she stuttered, glancing helplessly at Fitz, hoping he would realize what was going on and come to her rescue. She did not want word of her abilities getting out.

"Hey! Hey, man. Look...look at me!" Jemma heard Fitz try to distract the mugger, but her attention was completely focused on trying not to disappear entirely. "What else do you want, besides my watch?"

"What's happening to her legs?" the mugger demanded, his eyes widening as he stared at Jemma.

"Her legs?" Fitz rambled desperately."Nothing's happening to her legs. Wh...what have you been...smoking?"

"That's enough," the man yelled, darting towards Jemma with his knife still extended.

She screamed, feeling the knife blade nick her arm as she tried to dodge out of the way. It was disconcerting to see blood dripping out of the air from her invisible shoulder.

Then, suddenly, someone else was there. A tall, well-built man dressed all in black tackled the mugger, sending both their bodies slamming into the pavement.

Standing there, stunned, Jemma watched as the second man gripped the knife in their assailant's hand, trying to yank it free.

She felt Fitz's arm wrap around her still visible waist and start tugging her away, but she felt like she was glued to the ground, her eyes intent on the scene before her.

Something strange was happening. As the two men struggled for possession of the weapon in front of her disbelieving eyes, the knife blade starting glowing a cherry red. The mugger yelped and dropped it, then scrambled to his feet and pelted off, dropping Fitz's stolen possessions in his haste.

"Thank you," Jemma said fervently, stepping towards the man who had saved them after checking to make sure she was visible again.

The man turned, the shadows melting away. It was the rude man from the apartment earlier.

Jemma started at him, stunned.

He turned around and walked away.

* * *

_Please leave a review!_


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed , followed, or favourited - you guys are the best! This chapter was a fun one to write =)._

_IMPORTANT NOTE: This fic is co-authored by __**therealshawn**__, and she and I are also co-authoring the other side of this fic on her account. It is called __**"Monsters in your Head" **__and shows this same story from the Skitz viewpoint. I strongly suggest reading them both! This fic will be a complete story by itself, as will the other one, but they will complement each other, give you scenes that you normally wouldn't see, and give you large parts of the story that happen when the characters are split up._

_Anyway, enjoy!_

* * *

"Jemma. Jemma! Are you okay?" Jemma heard Fitz's voice, but she didn't respond. Couldn't respond. Her brain was too busy trying to process everything that had just happened. "Did he - oh my - oh, you're bleeding. Jemma, he stabbed you." She glanced down at her arm, a part of her remembering that the knife had nicked her, but it didn't really hurt. "Your arm is bleeding, we need to get you to -"

"Wait!" she finally called, starting after the man's retreating figure without consciously realizing that she was moving. Her brain had caught up, and she knew that she needed to talk to him before he disappeared.

"Where are you going? Jemma?"

"Come back!" she cried, ignoring Fitz's question.

"Seriously?"

"You won't believe this, Fitz," she chattered excitedly, breaking into a run, "but he has powers too! I saw them."

"What?" Fitz demanded, falling behind her now that she had sped up.

"The knife," she explained breathlessly, half-looking behind her at him. "It started glowing, red-hot. Like he was somehow heating the metal."

"That doesn't - we didn't-" he protested, but she heard his pace speed up until he was running after her. "Okay, let's go."

Jemma caught a glimpse of the man's face as he turned around to look at them, apparently aware that they were following him. Their eyes met for a brief moment before he broke the contact and started running. However, in that brief connection, she saw glimmers of fear in his gaze.

She knew that she had no chance of catching him at this point, so she stopped, panting for breath.

"Isn't his apartment that way?" Fitz asked, pointing behind them as he pulled up beside her.

"Wha-? she panted, glancing briefly at him. "Oh, yes. Yes it is."

...

"What do you think you're doing?" a menacing voice broke into Jemma's slumber.

Blinking, she peered up at a large figure blocking the sun, her brain still too fuzzy from sleep to identify why the person seemed annoyed. "Sleeping," she mumbled honestly, half-stifling a yawn.

"That's my apartment," the man growled, pointing at the door that she was leaning against. "Why are you here?"

Everything clicked in Jemma's brain at once and she remembered the events of last night: the mugging, the knife, the decision to wait for the man at his apartment. Slowly, she sat up, wincing as muscles sore from sleeping on the ground protested the movement and looked around. Fitz was sleeping a foot away from her, somehow unbothered by their conversation. "Oh," she managed finally, "I was trying to find you."

"Wh-" he started to ask, but she cut him off.

"Last night, you were there," she started babbling excitedly, words tumbling out of her mouth, "when we were being mugged. And then you touched the knife and well, for lack of a better explanation, you heated it so that the mugger dropped it. So, I put two and two together and deduced that you have powers."

He stared at her in disbelief, then raised an eyebrow skeptically and smirked at her. "You're insane."

His comment made her sputter. "I know what I saw," she defended herself. "And you're not denying it."

"I don't have powers. Satisfied?" The man still had the annoying half-smile on his face.

She stood and crossed her arms in front of her. "We're not leaving until you admit that I'm right."

He sighed. "Look, it was dark, you were scared, you thought you saw something." His tone was reassuring, an abrupt change from his earlier rudeness. "It's a normal reaction."

"I'm serious." She refused to back down. She knew what she had seen, and she was going to get an answer. "You _are _G. Thomas, aren't you?" It would make sense - the boy that they were searching for had suspected pyrokinetic abilities, much the same type of power that this man had demonstrated last night.

"My name's Ward," he replied, meeting her gaze squarely.

"Jemma," she responded, extending a hand.

He touched it with his for the briefest of moments, barely long enough to be considered a proper handshake. His touch was hot, but Jemma didn't know if it was just her reaction to the strange attraction she felt or if he actually was warmer than most people.

"Now, can I get into my house?"

"I told you my terms."

He shook his head in frustration. "Fine. I'm leaving."

Quickly, Jemma kicked Fitz, trying to wake him up before Ward left.

"I'm coming with you," she announced, not waiting for Fitz before she caught up to Ward. "Where exactly are we going?"

"I need coffee."

"Oh, coffee, great idea! I love coffee. It will give us a chance to discuss everything."

Ward groaned, but didn't reply.

"Why...coffee?" Fitz's sleepy voice came from somewhere behind them.

"Keep up Fitz," she tossed behind her absent-mindedly, focusing on Ward. "Today's looking promising."

...

"Look, we're clearly not getting anywhere," Jemma sighed, leaning back against the rough upholstery and glaring at Ward. She knew it was petty, but she couldn't help herself. The man was being a complete dolt.

"Maybe if you'd stop following me..." he muttered darkly, his face in his hands and his bloodshot eyes staring blankly down at the table.

Jemma huffed and crossed her arms. "It's not my fault that I'm smart enough to see what's right in front of me." Leaning forward, she lowered her voice. "I know you have powers."

"We've been over this," Ward mumbled tiredly, speaking as if he was on autopilot. "I don't have powers. And you're crazy."

The insult didn't faze her. "Look, I can turn invisible," she gazed earnestly at him, "and so naturally, when I discovered that I had powers, I came searching for another gifted person. Someone like you." She had explained this to him already on their walk there, but judging by his current mental capabilities, it bore repeating.

"Where's the caffeine?" he ignored her explanation completely and looked around for Fitz, who should have been back with their drinks by then.

Frustrated, Jemma pursed her lips and looked as well, but their booth was positioned so that she couldn't get a clear view of the counter. "Fitz'll be back with it soon," she promised, but her mind wasn't on the drinks. Not at all.

Here she was, presented with the opportunity of a lifetime - the chance to study gifted individuals. However, the grumpy man in front of her was ruining everything. All she wanted was a simple blood test, a psych analysis, and possibly a DNA sample. And cooperation. That wasn't really so much to ask, was it?

"So," she restarted the conversation, "I just need a little bit of your time so I can run some tests, and see if I can find any similarities between your results and mine. That'll help me draw some preliminary conclusions."

"You sure Fizz is coming back?"

"Are you even listening to me?" Jemma asked hotly, feeling her annoyance rise. "And his name is _Fitz._" The nerve! Sure, she had been following him around for the past twelve hours, but she was a scientist. She couldn't help herself.  
"No," he replied, shooting her an annoyed, pointed look. "Go away."

"As soon as I get a blood sample," she insisted stubbornly. "And run a couple tests."

"Don't you get it?" he retorted, his voice rising to match hers. "It's not happening. In fact," he started to stand up, "I'm leaving."

"No," Jemma ordered, her eyes blazing. This was possibly her only chance to study someone similar to her, and she wasn't going to let him walk out the door without a fight.

"You don't want me around when I'm angry," he warned her, one of his hands curling into a tight fist. "And I'm getting there."

"Oh good. Finally I might actually get some sort of emotion out of you." In her irritation, she didn't think twice about throwing out the jibe. Had she thought before she spoke, she might have realized that it was probably not the best idea to add fuel to his inner fire.

Luckily, Fitz picked that moment to return to the table, distracting both Jemma and Ward from the rising tensions between them.

"Where's the coffee?" Ward demanded, his disbelieving gaze lighting on the empty tray clutched in Fitz's hands.

Jemma noticed that her friend had a faraway look in his eyes, a look that she had come to recognize. He had developed it after the accident that had given her her powers and she had come to associate it with concern for her well-being, but something else must have set it off this time.

"Decorating the front of a really beautiful woman's shirt," he answered hollowly, his gaze unfocused.

"That's it," Ward growled, jumping to his feet. Jemma noticed that he was starting to shake violently as he fought to keep his emotions under control. "I'm out." Without another word, he stormed out of the coffee shop, the welcoming bell jingling weakly in the silence of his departure.

Grinding her teeth in extreme frustration, Jemma rose as fell and tried to shoo Fitz out of the booth so that she could go after him, but he refused to move.

"What're you doing?" she demanded, debating whether or not she could successfully squeeze past him and get to Ward before he vanished. "We need him."

"No, Jemma," he said firmly, his gaze on her. "He's a dangerous man and you've very successfully irritated the absolute heck out of him. It's probably not the best plan to go after him."

She leveled her steeliest gaze at him. "Fitz," her voice was pleading, "I need to study him. I have to find out about his powers."

"To find a way to cure yours?"

Dropping her eyes, she bit her lip guiltily. She knew that Fitz was worried about her and that he wanted to make sure that she was safe, but, since the accident, she had been feeling so...alive. Excited. It wasn't something she wanted to give up. "I can't promise I'll find a solution," she hedged. "But I really need him."

Fitz sighed resignedly. "Fine. But I'm not leaving you alone with him."

Rushing past him as he stood, she barely heard his comment in her hurry to catch up to Ward, running in the direction she had seen him go.

He'd better not have vanished.

…

The anger was too close to the surface. If he had stayed for one second longer…  
Ward shook the thought off, trying to focus instead on regulating his breathing to calm himself down. It wasn't working. It never did.

The heat spread through his body, dangerously close to erupting out of him. He knew the sensation well, and his steps quickened as he fought to keep any remainder of his hard-won self control in place. The consequences of losing control in such a public place were too dire to even think of.

That idiot scientist! Why couldn't she have just left him alone? There was something about her that drove him crazy, that penetrated right through the walls he had spent years building up, leaving him angry and surprisingly vulnerable. Her unyielding persistence had driven him nearly to a breakdown for the first time in eighteen years, and it had only been twelve hours since they had met. That must be a new record, at least for him. Normally, people weren't nearly that infuriating.

A tiny flame sparked from his hand and he balled it up into a fist, looking around nervously for somewhere where he could hide.  
An alley caught his eye, off to his left. At a casual glance, it appeared to be deserted. Perfect.

* * *

_Please leave a review!_


	5. Chapter 5

_A/N: Thanks to everyone who has reviewed , followed, or favourited - you guys are the best!_

_IMPORTANT NOTE: This fic is co-authored by __**therealshawn**__, and she and I are also co-authoring the other side of this fic on her account. It is called __**"Monsters in your Head" **__and shows this same story from the Skitz viewpoint. I strongly suggest reading them both! This fic will be a complete story by itself, as will the other one, but they will complement each other, give you scenes that you normally wouldn't see, and give you large parts of the story that happen when the characters are split up._

_Anyway, enjoy!_

* * *

His control was diminishing with each step he took. Flames were starting to materialize around him, the flickering light casting shadows on the alley walls.

The explosion wasn't far off. He could feel it building up inside of him, like the pressure builds up in a volcano before it erupts.

This alley wasn't ideal - it was right next to the coffee shop where he had left the irritating scientists, but at this point he was desperate.

The narrow pathway thankfully took a sharp right turn and led behind the shop, effectively hiding that section, containing mostly dumpsters, from the eyes of any casual pedestrians.

He rounded the corner, practically running at this point, feeling the flaming heat inside of him building up, already nearly past his breaking point.

Fire erupted in a swirling, heated mass in front of him, singing a large green dumpster and incinerating some stray bags of garbage.

The feeling was exhilarating.

Allowing his power to flow through him, through his veins, gave him a thrill like nothing else. However, the feeling was addictive and dangerous. Once he started, it was hard to stop.

The blast of fire continued, but he was gaining some control as he worked off his frustration, and was now able to channel it through his hands into a thin, concentrated stream directing at the pavement under his feet. It was starting to melt at the constant exposure to the temperature, but he figured it was better than causing irreparable damage to his surroundings.

Behind him, he heard the sound of a door open.

Immediately, he flinched and cut the stream of fire off. Whoever was behind him may not have noticed yet - at least, he hoped.

The door slammed. "Dude! Could you turn the temper tantrum down a few notches? I'm trying to work," the voice ordered from behind him.

Ward turned around and glared at the brown-haired girl who was being idiotic enough to interrupt him when he was in this state and said nothing. She was just lucky enough to arrive after the worst of it was over and when he had some semblance of control again. However, if she ticked him off too badly...

"Okay...well...not talking is better than all the shouting and slamming, I guess…" she continued, folding her arms in irritation.

"How long have you been there?" he finally demanded, shoving his hands in his pockets to hide the tendrils of smoke still emanating from them. He just hoped that she couldn't see the semi-liquid pavement in the shadows behind him.

"Been where? In this alley? My van's parked just around the corner. I was sitting there, minding my own business, when you stormed in and started trashing everything in sight, making it impossible to focus!"

"You don't want to be irritating me right now," he warned, feeling his hastily regained patience start eroding. "Get out of here."

"Oh, I don't want to be irritating you?" she demanded incredulously. "Maybe that's exactly what I want to do, Mr. Tall-Dark-and-Crazy! Besides I was here first!"

"This isn't a joke," he growled at her. She had to leave - the fire was still burning in his veins, begging to be released. "If you stay here, you're going to get hurt."

"Are you threatening me?"

"Yes!" he threw up his hands in exasperation. "Now, leave."

"Look, Ward," a new voice broke into the conversation, "we're not done talking." Ward looked over and groaned mentally as he saw two people joining him and the angry brunette in the alley. It was the scientist - Jemma. And that annoying man that followed her everywhere but always seemed lost in his own world. "I know that you're irritated and that you have some pretty intense psychological problems and anger issues," she continued, gesturing wildly at him as she approached, "but I am a _scientist_ and I am going to get my answers whether or not you want to cooperate. Understand?"

"Umm...who are you?" the new woman asked, peering over at the scientists.

"Oh, uh, Jemma. Simmons," she replied hastily, obviously irritated to be distracted from bothering Ward. "Who...who are you? A friend of his?"

"He has friends?" Fitz asked.

At the same time as his question, the new brunette scoffed, "Ha! No. And if you are, _please _take him away."

"Oh, that makes sense," Fitz muttered, shooting Ward a glare. He got the feeling that the man wasn't nearly as invested in Jemma's goals as he was in Jemma herself.

Ward clenched his fists, hoping that the action would distract him from all the people and help him keep his cool until he could get rid of them. "Why can't you just leave me alone? All of you!" he forced out between clenched teeth.

"If you would just answer some questions and let me take a blood sample…" Jemma started.

"She wants to take your blood? Are you all crazy?" The angry brunette looked shocked and a little concerned.

"I'm dangerous!" Ward interjected, nearly yelling to be heard overtop of all their babble. "Why does no one get that?" His last comment was made much more quietly and was directed more to himself than to them, but the new woman overheard.

"Oh, yeah," she rolled her eyes and gestured at him. "You're wearing a black t-shirt. I can practically smell the danger."

"A quick run of your DNA through my equipment…" Jemma tried again, but he cut her off.

"I don't have pow-."

"-not in front of civilians!" she interrupted, casting a suspicious glance at the brunette, then lowering her voice. "You realize that you're smoking and this entire alley smells like the inside of a fireplace, right?"

"I don't have superpowers!" he denied again, but his words sounded weak even to his own ears. After all, the alley did smell heavily like smoke and he was pretty sure that the pavement behind him hadn't yet solidified.

"But-" she protested, taking a step towards him and reaching out a hand.

"STOP!" he roared, sick of arguing with the infuriating woman. "If you say ONE MORE WORD…"

She flinched. He tried not to let her reaction make him feel guilty, but there was a part of him that was upset that he had scared her. No matter what kind of monster he was, he was not the type to yell at women. However, his outburst had served its purpose - everyone had fallen silent. Even Jemma.

Ward took advantage of the brief respite and started focusing on his breathing, trying to cool his internal body temperature to prevent another accident. Having lived with his abilities as long as he had, he knew that he was still in the danger zone and that anything could provoke him to explode again.

Jemma took another step towards him, but he held up a warning finger towards her and she thankfully halting, her eyes clearly showing concern. He didn't know why she would be concerned for him. It didn't make any sense.

Putting thoughts of her out of his head, he refocused on breathing deeply. In. Out.

"Seriously?" the brunette's sudden outburst interrupted his calming routine and he looked up at her in surprise. "What, in the name of all that is holy, is wrong with you guys?" she continued, her voice growing louder with every word. "Fire? Invisibility? Why do you guys keep yelling about superpowers and lab accidents and..and your freaking internal body temperature!?" That comment was accompanied with a pointed glare in his direction. Then, she switched her gaze to Fitz. "And you, Leo or whatever your name was, you seem fairly normal but are waffles really all you can talk about right now?"

"...what? How did you…?" Jemma asked, sounding bewildered and staring at her, her face mirroring the confusion that Ward felt. However, confusion was better than anger at this point. "Are you-?"

"Are you reading my thoughts?" Ward finished Jemma's sentence, staring unbelievingly at the brunette. There was no other way that she could have known about his attempt to lower his body temperature. However, the thought of her able to rifle through his thoughts... "Stay out of my head," he finally ordered.

"I don't-I wasn't _just _thinking about waffles," Fitz interjected and looked like he was about to continue, but Ward shot him a glare that made the man think better about saying anything more.

"Can you read minds?" Jemma asked, her confusion quickly and obviously morphing into excitement. "How does it work? Would you be willing to let me take a blood-"

The brunette's mouth was open and her eyes were wide with shock and...guilt? "Wh-what are you guys talking about? I can't-" she stuttered, but then took a deep breath and composed herself so that her face relaxed. "You guys are officially mental," she continued in a normal, almost conversational tone of voice. "I hope you get some help, I really do, but I'm out of here."

"I have to get out of this insane asylum," Ward agreed, figuring at this point that Jemma was not going to leave and he might have better luck finding somewhere else to finish letting off steam. He started to follow the creepy brunette out of the alley, but Jemma stepped in front of him. "Not so fast," she ordered, grabbing his arm.

He skin was unnaturally warm right now, but not unsafe to touch. At least, not yet. However, the chances of hurting her accidently had just skyrocketed. "You had better let me go right now before things get ugly." It came out like a threat, but really Ward was trying to save her from the potential consequences of her action.

Fitz walked up beside them, holding his hands up in a reassuring gesture. "Woah, hey there. Leave her alone." There was concern in his voice.

"Tell her to let go of me," Ward growled, his eyes flickering to each scientist, hoping that one of them would see reason and get her off of him.

The brunette had turned around at the sound of the confrontation, and now she started to walk back to them cautiously. "Dude, you've got nearly a foot on her," she commented, obviously working to keep her voice calming. "Why don't you just walk away?"

"I wish it were that simple." He did, he really did. It would be so easy to pull away and leave, but if she tried to stop him at all, he didn't know what his instinctual self-defense reflexes would do to her, and he refused to take that chance, no matter how much she irritated him.

"So, it's true," Jemma breathed, her grasp on his bicep shifting as she walked close to him. "You have powers!"

At this point, Ward knew that denying it wouldn't do anything. She had already proved that she was smart enough to see right through him. "I don't want to hurt you," he said instead, hoping that she would take the hint.

She didn't.

"I can help you. Study you." She looked up into his eyes earnestly, and he was struck again by the depth of caring she had for someone she had just barely met.

However, despite her sincerity, he still flinched as a bunch of old memories, memories that he had tried to forget, began to surface. Memories of screaming, of blinding lights, of men in surgical masks gathered above him...

Fitz's voice broke into his thoughts. "We're working on finding a cure. Well, we will be," he amended, still looking at Ward like he was a feral animal, "if you'll just let her do a few readings."

"Hold up," the brunette came a couple steps closer, interest clear in her eyes, "a cure? Not...not that I care."

"A cure," Jemma reaffirmed, not breaking her eyes contact with him. "If I let you go, are you going to run?"

Grinding his teeth, he considered his response carefully. The thought of a cure was tempting...extremely tempting. "No," he finally answered. "I'll help."

She smiled brilliantly at him and released her touch on his arm.

He expelled the breath that he hadn't realized that he had been holding, but didn't return her smile.

"Good, I'm glad to hear it," Jemma said softly. "So, everyone's coming home with me? I have a miniature lab in my apartment that'll do the trick."

Somehow, that didn't surprise Ward one bit.

* * *

_Please review!_


	6. Chapter 6

_A/N: Alright guys, this is the chapter where the characters will be split up! Now we can focus almost exclusively on the BioSpecialist relationship =)._

_IMPORTANT NOTE: This fic is co-authored by __**therealshawn**__, and she and I are also co-authoring the other side of this fic on her account. It is called __**"Monsters in your Head" **__and shows this same story from the Skitz viewpoint. I strongly suggest reading them both! This fic will be a complete story by itself, as will the other one, but they will complement each other, give you scenes that you normally wouldn't see, and give you large parts of the story that happen when the characters are split up._

_Anyways, enjoy!_

* * *

"Tell me what I'm thinking," the scientist ordered Skye. Ward rolled his eyes, irritated. This had been going on for a while and he wished that he could just escape already.

"I can't. I told you, it doesn't work like that. I can't just read your mind."

"How exactly do your powers work, then? Because, in the alley…"

Skye sighed long-sufferingly. "It's not like in the movies, where you read someone's mind and hear a stream of dialogue. Nobody thinks like that. Your minds are a constant jumble of words and feelings and pictures and half-formed ideas. When I'm in control and really intent on someone, I can usually pick up on just bits and pieces of what's going through their mind at that particular time."

Ward watched with interest as Jemma stabbed the other woman and took a blood sample, the action not even making her pause in her stream of questions. "So, how do you make sense of it all?"

"Umm, I don't, really. I try to avoid using...reading thoughts as often as I can."

"Fascinating," the scientist breathed, her eyes intently examining her sample. "Okay, you're done. At least for now."

"So, now you can find a cure?" Ward jumped into the conversation.

"If I just had a centrifuge and a couple detoxifying agents," she muttered to herself, ignoring his question.

"So...what exactly is it that you're looking for...in our blood?"

"Hmm?" she looked up at the sound of Skye's question, then shrugged. "I don't know, really. Any anomalies, especially if the anomalies are common to all three of our samples."

"Any luck?" Ward turned and saw the other scientist, Fitz enter the room from the kitchen area.

"I'm just getting started," Jemma replied.

"Hurry up," Ward growled, glaring balefully around the room. There were too many people, people who knew about his abilities.

She shot him an annoyed glance. "Blood sample aren't exactly simple," she told him. "I'd love to see you try to have one analyzed by now."

"Aren't you supposed to be some genius scientist or something?" he demanded, standing to loom over her. She seemed so tiny next to his size, but that just made him more angry. He couldn't just intimidate her, because he couldn't deliberately hurt a helpless woman.

"I am!" she responded hotly, putting down her sample and putting her hands on her hips. "But the constant interruptions are hardly speeding matters up."

He glared at her. "Why did I even bother coming?" he muttered, more to himself than to her.

"Look, I'm just _trying_ to help," she shot back.

"Well, try faster!" he knew that he was being irrational, but he was so sick of people and needles and having stupid powers.

"Okay!" Skye caught their attention, breaking into the argument. "Leo and I are going to the grocery store for a little bit. You guys want anything? No? Okay, bye!"

The door slammed behind them before either had a chance to respond. Ward couldn't shake the feeling that they were trying to escape - judging from the stunned look on Jemma's face, she shared his opinion.

...

"Would you please stop doing that?" Jemma glanced up from her microscope at Ward, who was pacing around her apartment angrily.

It had only been a couple minutes since Fitz had left with Skye, and already being alone with the strangely attractive man was irritating her and interrupting her work. At least the yelling match was over, though. For now.

Ward looked out the window, moving aside her lacy curtains to see better. "This isn't a secure location," he told her firmly. "I can't get a clear view of the street below - anyone could be following or waiting to ambush us. We'd never know."

"No one's following us," she sighed, rolling her eyes at his paranoia. "Now, if you could just sit still and be quiet for a couple minutes, I might be able to make some progress in my analysis of your blood sample."

Ward grunted, but he did take a seat on the couch, his body tilted so that he had a clear view out the window and onto the street. "At least you're on the first floor," he muttered. "Better escape routes."

"Working," she reminded him, not even looking up this time to glare at him. He always just ignored her when she did that anyways.

They sat in silence for a couple moments, until Ward finally stood and came to look over her shoulder. "Find anything?"

"Actually," she replied, "it's fascinating. Your blood...well, it's different. So is mine, and so is Skye's. But each sample is unique and I haven't yet found any similarities between the three - other than that we are all still obviously human."

"So, what's the next step?" he asked, leaning over her to peer through the microscope as well.

His proximity distracted her - she could feel the heat radiating off of him. She told herself that the blush on her cheeks was purely because of his warmth, not because his well-muscled arm was merely inches away from her face.

"Umm, well," she stuttered, "I...I need a DNA sample. The changes must have happened on the cellular level, at least that's what I hypothesize, but I'm going to need to analyze our DNA to be sure."

Ward nodded curtly. "How much longer until you find a solution?"

She chuckled and shook her head. "Patience. It's going to take some time."

"We don't have time," he said ominously, standing up and returning to his place on the couch, his eyes constantly alert for any sign of danger.

Jemma refocused on her work, peering into the microscope again and taking precise notes on the pad of paper next to her.

Suddenly, Ward shot up off the couch and was standing next to her, his usually pretty impassive face showing a touch of fear. "We have to go," he ordered, "now."

"What?" she demanded, confused. "Why? Fitz and Skye aren't even-"

"There's no time," he insisted, grabbing her arm and pulling her up out of her seat. His touch was warm, but not uncomfortably so. Shouldn't his hand be burning her? She didn't really have time to dwell on that thought. She knew what he could do when he got upset, and she really didn't want to be around him if he was about to explode.

"Ward," she gasped as he started pulling her towards the back of the apartment, "maybe you should take a moment. Calm down."

He didn't even slow his pace at her words. "There's someone outside. Someone that...that you really don't want to meet."

"How do you know?"

"Cars."

"That could be anyone," she protested as Ward finally stopped in her bedroom, but only long enough to push open the window and tear out the screen.

"It's not - I know him." Ward paused for a second and looked directly at her, and there was something in his eyes that told her not to argue, that this really was as serious as he said. "Now, go," he continued, gesturing to the window.

"Out there? I can't-"

Ward interrupted her by kneeling down and offering her a step to use to propel herself out. "Go."

Jemma didn't think - Ward's obvious anxiety was contagious - so she obeyed and found herself standing outside, joined by Ward only seconds later.

"This way," he ordered, shooting a glance around, making sure that there was no one around.

Jemma glanced over her shoulder nervously, but followed where Ward led despite her reluctance to abandon her research.

She shouldn't trust him, but for some reason, she did.

…

"Where are we going?"

Ward stared straight ahead, walking determinedly towards...well, he wasn't exactly sure where they were going. However, he certainly wasn't going to tell her that. It would just be one more thing for her to talk or argue about.

"And what was that all about?" she continued demanding. "Because I think I have a right to know the reason why you grab me, make me leave my apartment through my bedroom window, and are now on the run to who knows where. And this time, I want specifics."

"Just...stop talking," he finally ordered. "This is all your fault." His voice was not quite loud enough to be considered yelling, but it was close. "I'm just trying to save your life."

"Excuse me?" she stopped walking and put her hands on her hips. "How is this _my_ fault?"

"I've avoided him for years," he grunted, lowering his voice as felt his control start to slip away. He couldn't afford a mistake, not right now. "But when you show up, he finds me in less than a day. Coincidence?"

She just stood there, a stunned look on her face. It was obviously too much for her to take in, so he just grabbed her hand again and continued leading her away, hoping soon that he would find somewhere safe to lie low for a bit.

…

The man looked at the photo in his hands contemplatively. "Good job," he told the photographer.

The picture showed a tall, well-built man with dark hair leading away a girl with straight brown hair and a nervous expression on her face. Ward and the scientist girl.

He had nearly dismissed Jemma Simmons - following that accident, everything had seemed completely normal and he had almost removed the men he had tracking her phone and every move.

But then, she had lead him directly to his goal - Ward.

"Find them," he ordered to the men around him, all trained assassins. "Kill her, but bring him to me."

The men nodded and left.

The man leaned back in his chair and continued to gaze at the photograph. Close. He was so close.

* * *

_Please review and give me ideas for what you'd like to see in the future!_


	7. Chapter 7

_A/N: Guys, I'm so sorry that it has been forever since the last update. __**Therealshawn**_ _actually got injured (and hospitalized) and has been unable to write for a while, so that slowed us down significantly. Anyway, things should be back to a more normal (ish) schedule now!_

_IMPORTANT NOTE: This fic is co-authored by __**therealshawn**__, and she and I are also co-authoring the other side of this fic on her account. It is called _"_**Monsters in your Head" **__and shows this same story from the Skitz viewpoint. I strongly suggest reading them both! This fic will be a complete story by itself, as will the other one, but they will complement each other, give you scenes that you normally wouldn't see, and give you large parts of the story that happen while the characters are split up._

_Anyways, enjoy!_

* * *

"Did we lose them?" Jemma whispered nervously. She had never been in a situation like this before, a situation where death was a possible ending. Her heart was beating so loudly that she was afraid Ward could hear its thumping.

"Maybe," he replied curtly, peering out of the small alley they had ducked into to avoid the people pursuing them.

Jemma bit her lip. At first, she had thought that Ward was just trying to freak her out so that she wouldn't argue with him. Now, however, she had seen evidence for herself that they were actually being followed, and that made her really nervous.

It was all her fault.

She didn't know how she had managed to attract the attention of whoever these dangerous people were, but she had somehow done it and now Ward was in danger because of her. And Fitz…

"Turn invisible," Ward suddenly turned towards her and ordered. "Turn invisible, stay here, and stay quiet."

"Where are you going?" she demanded, suddenly nervous. Though Ward was unpredictable and a little terrifying, the thought of being alone with even more dangerous people following her made her queasy.

"I'll be back," he promised, deflecting her question. "Now, go invisible."

"I've never done it on purpose," she protested. "It's always just...happened." She held out one hand in front of her, willing it to disappear, but to no avail. "See?"

"What triggered it before?" Ward sounded hurried and impatient, but he didn't abandon her. It was surprising that he seemed to care for her in some way despite having just barely met her.

"Fear," she answered immediately, thinking of the mugger. "Or maybe not…" she added, thinking back to the time in her apartment with Fitz. "Actually, I haven't quite pinpointed the trigger for my-"

Ward's hand burst into flames, cutting her off. Then, in one smooth motion, he pulled his hand back and shot a fireball right at her.

She tried to scream and run, but she realized that, while she was distracted by his abilities, he had clamped his hand over her mouth and had pressed her up against the brick wall where she couldn't escape.

She closed her eyes, feeling the heat wash against her skin.

"Fear," Ward remarked mildly, a second later.

Jemma opened her eyes, realizing that she wasn't burned to a crisp. Ward was standing in front of her, looking smug. "You nearly killed me!" she accused, taking a step forward and stabbing an accusing finger at him.

He rolled his eyes, his gaze unfocused, like he was looking through her. "The fireball didn't even come close. All I did was terrify you into using your powers."

Jemma stopped, then looked down at her hand. Or, at the place where her hand should have been. "Oh," she exclaimed quietly.

"I'm going to scout the area, maybe find us somewhere safe to lie low while we figure out what we're going to do. Stay here."

She nodded, then realized that he couldn't see her. "Okay."

"Good." Ward nodded curtly and started off down the alley, leaving her alone and only slightly less terrified than before.

…

Why did he bring her?

It made no sense, and that bugged Ward to no end. Everything he did, everything that he was, always made sense to him. However, somehow his protective instincts had been triggered and he had unconsciously decided to protect her along with himself.

She was a liability. There was no doubt about that. She obviously had never been on the run before, much less had to hide from an extremely powerful enemy like the one currently chasing them.

Being with him actually put her in more danger, so why couldn't he just abandon her?

Again, nothing made sense. It seemed so logical just to leave her in that alley; eventually she would figure out that he wasn't coming back and she would leave. She was a smart woman - she'd be fine.

A flash of movement along a street corner caught Ward's eye. Casually, he adjusted his path so that he could get a better glimpse, all sense on alert just in case it was one of the men following him. Further survey showed him that it was just a child - nothing suspicious.

Staying alert was almost second nature to Ward, now, so it wasn't difficult for him to almost tune out and just let his subconscious continue to observe and to watch for danger.

Why didn't he burn her?

This question had been sitting in the back of Ward's mind, waiting until he had a chance to think it through. He knew he had been upset, riled up, anxious when he had grabbed her hand and dragged her along with him. Yet, somehow, his emotions hadn't triggered his abilities, for the first time in as long as he could remember. And that...well, that made him nervous. To be fair, almost anything unusual in this situation would make him nervous, but that was an anomaly worth investigating.

"...sorry, I just don't think that it will be a possibility," a soft voice floated out to him.

Her voice.

Somehow, without realizing it, he had circled right back to the alley where he had left Jemma only a short time earlier.

"...a lot going on now," Jemma's voice continued as Ward turned the corner into the alley. "But possibly-"

"What are you doing?" Ward demanded angrily, cutting her voice off, staring at the blank wall where the sound was coming from. At least she had remained invisible - that was something.

A surprised-looking Jemma popped back into visibility, a cell phone at her ear. "I'm terribly sorry, but I have to go," she whispered into the line, then hung up the phone. To Ward, she added by way of explanation, "There was this police officer, and I asked him for a favour once and he called to ask-"

"You could have given yourself away," Ward interrupted, feeling the seething frustration flare to life inside of him. "Give me the phone." He held out an expectant hand, hoping that he would stay in control enough to keep the fire at bay, but knowing that it would be a struggle. The idiot woman was even worse at hiding that he had originally thought.

"No," she exclaimed. "I have to call Fitz. He'll be so worried…"

Ward sighed impatiently and advanced towards her. She stepped back until she was pressed up against the brick wall behind her. Stopping a couple inches away, he reached for the phone, which she still clutched tightly in her hand. "Do you want to die?" he asked softly, trying to convey the gravity of the situation to the stubborn scientist.

She shook her head, but still hesitated.

Ward stepped closer and gently removed the phone from her fingers, careful to keep his contact with her skin at a minimum because he knew that his touch would be superheated at the moment. "If you value your life, you'll do as I say," he told her, looking deep into her eyes, hoping to see understanding.

She bit her lip - a surprisingly enticing gesture - but nodded.

Ward stepped back, giving her space again, satisfied that she wouldn't do anything without running it past him.

Then, he set her phone on fire and dropped it to the ground below, letting it burn.

She opened her mouth like she was about to protest, but then looked at him and very obviously restrained herself. Instead, she asked, "What do we do now?"

"Find a hideout. We have planning to do."

"And who exactly is after us?"

"Let's hope you never find out," he told her grimly, starting down the alley with her at his side. "I hope to kill him before you ever meet."

"Kill him?" she squeaked. "That seems slightly drastic."

"It's merited."

"Ward?" She put a hand on his arm and he immediately stopped dead, willing himself not to lose control, not to burn her. "Who is he?" she asked again, her tone serious and concerned.

Ward sighed, realizing that he wouldn't get any peace until he answered her. "Let's just say he's someone from my past," he tried, hoping that the deflection would work. It didn't - she just kept staring at him. "I was..this man's...bodyguard a few years back," he added reluctantly. "Things...happened. Bad things. And," he faltered, remembering vividly the details of what had happened with horror, "I ended up faking my own death to escape him."

"I'm so sorry," Jemma muttered, releasing her touch on his arm and allowing them to continue walking. "That must have been awful. And now that he knows you are alive, he's coming after you again?"

Ward nodded and said nothing, just grateful that she had accepted his vague response.

…

That night, Jemma couldn't sleep.

It was Ward. The man was such an enigma - a tortured past, a troubled present, an uncertain future.

He had found what he called a 'bolt-hole' that he had used previously after faking his death from whoever that man was from his past, and now they were staying in the small, underground room until Ward could decide what their next move would be.

His proximity made everything so difficult. Thinking, speech, everything.

When he had stood so close to her in the alley, she had lost all rational thought and had just stood there, watching, as he had destroyed her phone.

He was dangerous. She was confident that he wouldn't hurt her, but it made her nervous that he wanted to go kill someone powerful enough to have people following them.

Sleep was far off for Jemma that night.

* * *

_Please review!_

_Also, do any of you talented people want to make cover art for this fic? I just can't find any good pictures of Grant and Jemma!_


	8. Chapter 8

_A/N: This chapter is just a bit of a filler, but it gives us a chance to really focus on their relationship - I think it's a good one =)._

_IMPORTANT NOTE: This fic is co-authored by __**therealshawn**__, and she and I are also co-authoring the other side of this fic on her account. It is called _"_**Monsters in your Head" **__and shows this same story from the Skitz viewpoint. I strongly suggest reading them both! This fic will be a complete story by itself, as will the other one, but they will complement each other, give you scenes that you normally wouldn't see, and give you large parts of the story that happen while the characters are split up._

_Anyways, enjoy!_

* * *

He was already gone when she woke up.

She didn't know why it surprised her, but it did. It wasn't like he owed her anything or that he had any real reason to keep her with him. In fact, it was quite the opposite. It was only because of her that this mystery man had learned that Ward was still alive. But still, there was a part of her that wanted to believe that he was coming back, that he somehow cared for her enough not to abandon her.

She shivered, the realization that she was freezing breaking into her thoughts. And hungry, too, she discovered as she heard her stomach growl. When was the last time she had eaten?

Rising to her feet, she explored the small space in only a matter of seconds. While clearly functional as a hiding place, Ward's bolthole was missing anything resembling an amenity. There was no heating, or the heating was broken, as the temperature felt like it was hovering around freezing. Jemma swore that she could see her breath as a fog in front of her. The fridge was small and the sight of it raised her hopes, but they were quickly dashed as she opened the door and saw the bare shelves.

"Looking for something?"

The voice, coming from behind her, startled her. She yelped and whirled around, careening right into a broad chest.

A well-muscled broad chest. Not that she would notice things like that. Except in a purely scientific way, of course.

"You're invisible," Ward's voice growled from above her impatiently.

"Oh. Yes," she said slowly, feeling her face heat up as she realized that her hands were resting against his strong pecs. Sometimes, like right now, invisibility had its perks.

"And you're freezing," he added. Surprisingly, Jemma heard something in his voice that almost sounded like concern.

"It is a little chilly in here," she admitted, reluctantly taking a step away from his warmth. It must be a side-effect of his power, she decided. There was no way that anyone could be that wonderfully warm after being outside on a brisk morning without a jacket.

Ward grunted, muttering something under his breath that she couldn't quite make out, but it sounded mildly irritated. Then, louder, he added, "Come back here."

"Why?" she asked, confused. She had only taken one step back from him, but he acted like...like she was still invisible. Right. With a thought, she made her body rematerialize. "I'm much better at turning my powers off than on," she laughed, but the sound quickly morphed into another shiver.

Ward closed the distance between them with one step. "This will help," he promised. She nodded wordlessly, feeling her mouth go dry at his proximity even though they were no longer touching. Then, she felt an outpouring of heat envelop her body, banishing her shivers all at once.

Closing her eyes, she sighed in pleasure and dropped her arms from their position crossed in front of her chest, allowing herself to bask in the warmth.

"Better?"

"Much," she agreed immediately. Opening her eyes, she saw that he had a look of extreme concentration on his face even as he continued to watch her. "Is it hard?" her curiosity prompted her to ask. "To project warmth like this?"

"Takes a lot of control," he answered curtly. "But that should be good for now." At his words, the heat emanating from him was extinguished, but even the couple moments were enough to have warmed Jemma and the little hideout significantly.

"How exactly does it work?" She knew that Ward wasn't particularly fond of questions, but he was just so...intriguing. In so many different ways - his powers, his physique, his cold exterior but unwillingness to abandon her… "Your powers, I mean."

"Have a bagel." He ignored her question and tossed her a bag, which she caught, trying not to let her irritation at his evasiveness show.

Somehow, she was going to find answers to her questions.

…

There were exactly forty-two cracks in the wall. Ward had counted - twice.

"How about now?"

"No," he answered curtly, flicking his gaze over to the scientist for a brief second before returning to his in-depth study of the wall in front of him.

Her frustrated sigh called his attention to her again, just in time to see her walk over and slump down on the floor next to him. "It's hopeless."

Automatically, he shifted slightly so that there was a little more room between their bodies. He had developed this reflex shortly after discovering his powers; it was a method of ensuring the safety of those around him. If no one got too close, no one got burned. However, around the blasted scientist, he kept finding himself close to her, touching her, wanting to… No. Ward cut himself off before his thoughts got carried away. Out loud, he answered, "Maybe fear is the only trigger."

"It can't be," she insisted. "Yes, the last few incidents were caused by fear, but when I first discovered my abilities, it was just me and Fitz…" her voice trailed off at her friend's name and her eyes dropped to the floor, but not before he saw the worry clearly displayed in them.

"They aren't after him," Ward promised, saying the words without thinking. For some reason, he felt the need to reassure her, to lift that sadness from her eyes. When she wasn't driving him crazy and plaguing him with question after question, she was actually surprisingly tolerable.

"That doesn't mean he's okay," she muttered, her hair falling down in a curtain, hiding her face from him.

She had a point, but Ward couldn't point that out - it would only upset her more. Instead, he sighed, unable to believe that he was going to do this. "It's like releasing a muscle," he stated.

"What?" she lifted her head and glanced at him. Unshed tears glimmered in her eyes, but he had her attention and as far as distracting her went, it seemed like a good start.

"My powers." Now he definitely had her interest - she sat up straighter and shifted so that she was no longer leaning against the wall, but was instead angled towards him. He took that as his clue to continue. "It's hard to explain, exactly, but," he clenched his fist and held it out in front of him for her to see, "my abilities feel sort of like a fist - I have to constantly focus on keeping it clenched, on keeping the muscles taut."

"And if you lose focus?" she whispered, almost like she was talking to herself.

"Bad things," he responded grimly.

"Then, how do you-"

"-keep control?" he chuckled mirthlessly. "It's impossible to control it perfectly." He didn't know why he was telling her all this, but now that he'd started, the words kept coming out despite his attempts to stop. "If the 'fist' releases slightly, that causes my internal temperature and even the air around me to heat up." She nodded - she'd experienced that one. "And the more it releases, the more explosive my abilities."

"Have you ever released it all?" she leaned forward excitedly, apparently uncaring that he had basically just told her that he was a ticking time-bomb, ready to go off at any second. It was either impressively brave of her or remarkably stupid.

Memories flooded back to Ward, memories of a time when his self-control had been nonexistent and the results had been catastrophic. "No," he lied gruffly, ending the conversation by standing and walking over to the small desk in the corner of the room.

She stood silently and followed, hovering behind him as he pulled open a drawer and retrieved one of the burner phones that he kept stored there for emergencies as well as a slightly bent business card.

Finally, as he had guessed it would, her insatiable curiosity won out. "What are you doing?"

"Planning our next move," he answered, keeping his response deliberately cryptic just to bug her. He knew that it was petty, but it was payback for her ability to both aggravate him and to trigger his desire to lower his defenses.

She paused, obviously waiting for an explanation that he had no intention of giving. Instead, he dialed the number on the card and turned his back to her, speaking quietly enough into the receiver as he started pacing that it would be difficult for her to catch more than a few words here and there. And, to her, that would be even more frustrating than missing the entire conversation. At that thought, he couldn't help a slight grin from forming on his lips.

"Great," he suddenly raised his voice back to a normal level now that the important details had been hashed out. "We'll be there. 7 tomorrow." He hung up the phone, careful to school his features back into an expressionless mask before turning back to face Jemma.

To his extreme satisfaction, she had her hands on her hips and an annoyed look on her face. "Care to inform me?" she asked icily. "I believe I have a right to know since my life is hanging in the balance."

"I'm keeping us safe - that's all you need to know," he responded, his tone just as cold as hers. Provoking her could be fun, but on this issue, he wasn't going to budge. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, it was that she had never been on the run before and, judging from her past actions, he couldn't be sure that she would be cautious enough. However, keeping her in the dark would make sure that she wouldn't accidentally reveal anything to anyone, no matter how insignificant the detail.

"Wonderful," she breathed sarcastically. "I'm entrusting my safety to a homicidal man with fiery superpowers without having any idea of the plan."

Ward forced a smile, just to goad her, despite her reference to his quest to kill the man who had caused him to live in fear for so long. "At least I can restrain my curiosity long enough to not irritate homicidal maniacs," he retorted.

She huffed and opened her mouth to say something, but he took a sudden step towards her and allowed flames to burst from his arms. She squeaked, her eyes widening for an instant before she vanished.

For some reason, even though he was sure he would pay for it later, Ward found that satisfying as well.

* * *

_Please review!_


	9. Chapter 9

_Yay an update! Sorry, trying to coordinate two authors' schedules can be a nightmare...\_

_IMPORTANT NOTE: This fic is co-authored by __**therealshawn**__, and she and I are also co-authoring the other side of this fic on her account. It is called _"_**Monsters in your Head" **__and shows this same story from the Skitz viewpoint. I strongly suggest reading them both! This fic will be a complete story by itself, as will the other one, but they will complement each other, give you scenes that you normally wouldn't see, and give you large parts of the story that happen while the characters are split up._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

A week earlier, if anyone had asked Jemma what she would be doing at 7 am on a Saturday morning, she would have launched into an eager discussion about any of her several home science projects she would have been working on while sipping a warm mug of hot cocoa.

Instead, she was pretty sure that what she was about to do was a violation of several laws in multiple countries.

"Is this legal?" she hissed quietly to Ward, who was standing beside her with his characteristic angry expression and alert posture. She felt the need to ask the question, even though she was almost positive she wouldn't like the answer.

"Would you prefer to die?" His curt response made her shiver and she swallowed her half-formed protests.

"So that's a no…" she forced herself to take a couple deep breaths. "I thought we lost the people following us," she changed the subject, hoping that he would agree and tell her that everything was safe and she could go home. It was a ridiculous hope; she knew that. However, with everything going on, the thought of having her old life back was all she could cling to.

"They are highly-trained assassins - they don't give up that easily."

"Reassuring." Her voice was higher than usual as a response to her nerves.

"Alright, Mister...Dalton," the weasley man that Ward had been dealing with all morning walked out of the back room, a handful of papers clutched between his fingers. He was looking intently at a small black passport. "It seems everything is in order for you and your wife - congratulations. Enjoy your new lives."

"Wife?" Jemma looked accusingly at Ward. He had mentioned that part of the arrangement.

He didn't meet her eyes, but she could have sworn that he looked slightly uncomfortable. "Couples are less suspicious." He reached out and took the papers from the other man, passing half of the stack over to Jemma. "Thanks, Blake. The usual payment?"

"That'll do nicely," the man bobbed his head up and down eagerly.

Jemma tuned out the rest of the conversation, instead opening up her new passport with trembling fingers. Liz Dalton. It certainly didn't sound very English, but Ward had assured her that that wouldn't be a problem. She let out a quiet sigh, reminding herself to breathe. The fact that she was even holding a fake ID, much less a whole armful of fake IDs, terrified her. How was this now her life?

"Jemma?" Ward's voice broke into her thoughts. "Are you ready to go?" There was something resembling concern in the way he placed a light touch on her back and guided her out of the shop without waiting for her response.

"Ward?" she gulped, "where are we going?"

"Hopefully nowhere," he told her grimly, his eyes scanning the street constantly even while he spoke to her. She noticed with a shiver that he hadn't removed his hand from her back - she was somehow okay with that. It was comforting in a way that all his words weren't. "It's a contingency plan in case…"

"In case you can't kill mystery man," she finished in a clipped tone. The more time she spent with Ward, the more she was convinced that he wasn't nearly as dangerous as she had originally thought. However, just as she was starting to feel comfortable around him, he reminded her again that he was willing to kill to escape his past.

"It's not like he's left me much of a choice," Ward grunted almost defensively. That was the last thing he said on the entire walk back to the bolthole.

…

Why did what she thought about him bother him so much? Her opinions shouldn't matter - after all, she was just some pesky scientist that had been stupid enough to catch the attention of dangerous people. But, somehow, it rankled him that she seemed disappointed with his resolution to end all the running and eliminate the man that had caused him so much pain.

"So...what exactly is your plan now?" the woman in question broke the silence between them as they entered the small living room of his emergency hideout.

Ward paused. He hadn't really had a chance to think much more about what came next for her. His conscience wouldn't let him abandon her…

"Because I believe that the best thing for me to do is to continue researching our abilities. And both of us should be practicing as well, of course."

"Practicing?" Ward raised an eyebrow in amusement at her suddenly authoritative tone.

"How else are we going to gain control?" she asked, smirking at him like he was an idiot. "Research can only do so much. Oh," she continued like she had just remembered something, "speaking of, we need to return to my apartment so I can gather all my materials to continue studying all our blood samples I collected."

Ward crossed his arms in front of him and turned slightly away from her to hide the slight smile that formed at her words. It just amazed him that, no matter what happened, she was still so ridiculously, stubbornly determined to continue her research.

"And sooner would be better."

He turned to see her looking at him expectantly. Letting out an incredulous laugh, he asked, "You honestly think it's a good idea to go back to your place? After they found us there last time?"

"Do you have a better idea, Mr. I'm-so-tough-and-mysterious?" she challenged, stepping closer to him and stabbing a finger towards his chest. "Because I am _done_ with sitting around here doing absolutely nothing with no clue what's actually going on. I have to do _something_."

"You think I like the situation?" he growled, her irritation rubbing off on him. Tiny flames started dancing around his knuckles. "There was a reason I faked my own death - I hate being hunted!"

"At least you know who's hunting you," she shot back, seemingly unbothered by the flickers of fire. "All I know is that I'm trapped here with a man who may quite possibly drive me insane if the man who's looking for me doesn't find me and kill me first."

Abruptly, Ward realized that Jemma's face was only inches from his - in his preoccupation with their argument, he had gotten much closer to the woman than he had realized.

The urge to kiss her nearly overwhelmed him.

Instead, he forced himself to take a couple deep breaths, unclench his fists, and pull himself away from her and the temptation she represented. There was just something about her - how she never seemed to stay scared, how she was so fascinated with her powers, how she fought back when they argued - seemed to turn him on in a way that no one else ever had.

An awkward silence pervaded the small space. Ward didn't want to break it, didn't want to face her just in case she had somehow realized what he had been about to do before he had restrained himself.

"We're out of milk," Jemma finally caved and spoke. "I'm going to pop over to the store quickly."

Ward looked up, frowning, but didn't quite meet her eyes. "Alone?"

"I...well, some space sounds...nice," she explained weakly. "And it's about the only useful task I can do as researching a cure seems to be out of the question."

"It's not safe." He still didn't know why he cared, but he did.

"It's one block away and I can turn invisible," she pointed out. "And I don't need your permission."

Ward just sighed and decided not to push the issue - he didn't want to risk another argument so soon after the last one. Besides, he could always just follow her to make sure nothing happened. "Fine," he agreed curtly.

"Practice while I'm gone?"

"Using my powers is too-"

"-please?" she cut him off and shot him a pleading look.

He found himself nodding despite his fears around the use of his abilities. Somehow, when she asked, it made him want to gain control of his powers and use them to keep her safe.

Maybe he was going crazy.

…

Jemma couldn't help the small, victorious smile from forming on her face as she walked outside into the sunshine.

He had agreed. Not only to let her go to the store and get out of the stuffy bolthole, but also to start practicing with his abilities. It wasn't much, but it was a start. Maybe if he realized what a gift his abilities were, he would decide to do something better with them than seek revenge on whoever was after them.

The walk to the store was short, as she had reminded Ward, but Jemma still used the time to her advantage. As she strolled along, she practiced her abilities by trying to turn her fingers invisible, one by one, and then turning each one visible again. It was a frustrating process as simply staring at her fingers and willing them to disappear didn't seem to work, but every now and then one of them would vanish for no apparent reason. At least she was getting better, even if she didn't understand how. And returning visibility just required a simple thought, so that wasn't a problem.

The scientist in Jemma oscillated between being fascinated and frustrated by her abilities. Obviously, fear was the principal trigger, but she did seem to be able to control the invisibility somewhat - or at least she should be able to.

Still lost in thought, she barely noticed the bell ringing overhead as she pushed open the door leading into the small convenience store and headed directly towards the refrigeration section. The bell rang again behind her.

"He probably likes skim," she muttered to herself, making a face, as she opened the fridge doors and pulled out a carton of whole milk just to spite him. "Cream is too much of a luxury for the tortured-"

"-don't move," a low voice interrupted her. She felt the unmistakable nudge of a gun against her back.

She froze immediately, terror suddenly spreading through her body. The milk dropped out of her numb fingers, hitting the floor and spraying cold liquid all over.

And, thankfully, the fear was powerful enough that she turned invisible.

The man cursed and she used his distraction and the advantage her abilities offered her to whirl around and hopefully find a way to escape. Why had she thought this was a good idea? Her heart was pounding so loudly she was afraid that her attacker would hear her.

The man fired his gun.

Jemma felt pain lancing up from her shoulder and she cried out involuntarily.

"You've got powers," the man gestured angrily with his gun and fired again, but by his second shot Jemma had already scrambled away, clutching her wounded shoulder with her other hand.

The pain was horrendous and Jemma was starting to see black spots around the edges of her vision as she struggled to head to the exit, but her assailant was smart enough to realize that the door was her only viable destination, and he beat her to it.

"There's no where to run," the man told her, an ugly grin creasing his face.

Jemma knew he was right, just as she knew she was going to die as soon as she lost unconsciousness and her powers turned off. However, the intense pain from the bullet wound in her shoulder drowned out the fear she should have been feeling, leaving only a feeling of regretful acceptance.

Then the door burst open, and _he_ was there, fire lighting up his figure and his face twisted into a snarl of fury. Jemma had never seen a more beautiful sight in her life as she slumped to the ground and watched Ward...her vision faded into black before she could see anything more.

…

She woke up in his arms.

Was it bad that her first thought was about how great it felt to have his arms around her, his muscles taut against her body?

But then the pain set in, reminding her why exactly Ward was carrying her, and she groaned. Maybe even his muscles weren't worth being conscious.

"We're almost back to my place," Ward told her, his voice tight. "I have medical supplies there."

"What happened?" she muttered through gritted teeth. She still felt a little dazed, which made focusing difficult.

Ward somehow managed to get the door open without shifting his grip on her, and he waited until he had her lying down on the couch before he replied, "You were shot."

"Oh," she tried for sarcasm, "I hadn't noticed that."

That elicited a forced chuckle from him as he started rummaging through drawers, gathering up what he would need to treat the bullet wound. "You were lucky though," he called out. "It's a clean wound - bullet went straight through and it should heal up fine."

"Great," she closed her eyes, then tried to focus on something else. "You followed me," she finally accused him as he returned with his materials and some painkillers, figuring that starting an argument would at least distract her from the waves of agony from her left shoulder. Besides, it did annoy her that he followed her after she had expressly told him not to.

"You could just say 'thank you'," he told her as he carefully ripped the sleeve of her shirt off and spread a little bit of antiseptic over the injured area. "After all, I did save your life."

"Thanks a heap," she forced out dryly, wincing at his warm touch. "Now, don't you think I have a right to know who nearly murdered me?"

A shadow passed over Ward's face and his eyes hardened. For a second, Jemma almost felt afraid of him. But then the moment passed and he seemed to force himself to relax back into himself. "Many years back, when I first developed my powers, I met G-," he cut himself off and changed what he had been about to say, "-a man who was obsessed with superpowers."

Jemma committed his every word to memory, surprised that she was able to get him to talk about his past and this mystery man at all, even if the details were vague. "The man you were guarding?" she guessed, still trying to distract herself as Ward started bandaging her wound.

He nodded and swallowed heavily, refusing to meet her eyes. "He's a dangerous man," he finally added. "That's why I have to kill him. It's the only way to keep y-...to stay safe."

"And killing him's the only-"

"-done." Ward stood up and stormed off before she could finish her sentence or even thank him.

...

"...turned invisible, right before my eyes." The assassin's voice was coloured by bitterness as he made his report. The livid burn marks covering his body might have something to do with his attitude.

"Invisibility…" the other man in the room breathed, his eyes lighting up. He had never before been so glad to hear that his assassins had failed to kill a target. "I'm rescinding the kill order on the girl," he decided out loud. "I want her and Ward brought directly to me."

"And my revenge?" the assassin demanded, gesturing to his body angrily.

"You'll have it - after I'm done with them," the other man responded with an unsettling gleam in his eyes. "First, I have experiments to conduct. You can have what's left of them once I have what I want."

The assassin bowed in agreement, then left the man to plot.

* * *

_Please leave a review! _

_Also, check out _**agentmarymargaretskitz **_on tumblr - she has done some AMAZING fanart for this story and you all have to see it =D._

_Finally, be excited because Leo and Skye will be returning next chapter!_


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N: Yay - it's finally the meet-up chapter! I hope you all enjoy it!_

_IMPORTANT NOTE: This fic is co-authored by __**therealshawn**__, and she and I are also co-authoring the other side of this fic on her account. It is called _"_**Monsters in your Head" **__and shows this same story from the Skitz viewpoint. I strongly suggest reading them both! This fic will be a complete story by itself, as will the other one, but they will complement each other, give you scenes that you normally wouldn't see, and give you large parts of the story that happen while the characters are split up._

_Enjoy!_

* * *

"You know, there are other ways to deal with problems that don't involve...well, murder!" Jemma argued hotly. She had been trying to get her point across all morning, but Ward had been turning a deaf ear to her words so far. "No matter how awfully this man treated you - and I'm not excusing that he's probably a bad person - he doesn't deserve to die."

For the first time since she had brought the topic up, he turned to face her, a dangerous gleam in his eyes. "Doesn't deserve to die?" he demanded incredulously, rising from his seat and approaching where she rested on the couch. "He's a monster!"

Her shoulder twinged painfully as she forced herself up so she could look him in the eyes. "He doesn't have to make you one. Because, if you do this, that's what you would be." She was trying, and failing miserably, to keep the fear and anger out of her voice at the thought of what Ward could, no _would,_ do if she didn't talk him down.

Abruptly, Ward pulled back from their staring match. "I don't have to listen to you."

"Of course not!" Jemma threw her hands up in exasperation. "Why would you listen to the voice of reason? The only sane person here at the moment is me, and if you'd just take a break and cool off for _one _second you'd realize that I'm right and you're being-"

"-what?" he interrupted, taking another angry step towards her, smoke starting to rise from his forearms. "What am I being exactly? Protective? Willing to risk everything so I can live without watching over my shoulder?" His hands rose to grip her upper arms in a grip that just verged on being painful. "How is that insane?"  
"Ward," she muttered warningly, keeping a careful eye on his hands. In his current frame of mind, it was entirely possible that he could hurt her without even realizing it. "You need to-"

"-find Garrett and murder the filthy-"

"-calm down before-"

"-he murders us both. Or tortures us to death. Or just keeps us in his lab like some sick science experiments." Ward's voice rose in volume and intensity with each additional sentence.

"Will you STOP yelling for a moment and listen to me?" she screamed at the top of her lungs over his rambling. "We need-"

Suddenly, a wave of flame exploded from Ward's body, the hungry flames leaping eagerly towards Jemma. She had a moment, a brief moment, to feel terror at the thought of her imminent death as the sickeningly twisted tongues of fire approached in what seemed like slow-motion. Then, she saw - or maybe felt - something extend out of her. Something shimmery flickered at the edge of her vision, but then a blast of heat hit her and she closed her eyes, bracing herself for the agonizing pain.

It never came.

"No…" she heard the breathed exclamation, coming from Ward who was shrouded in the smoke filling the small room. The cry was full of sorrow and pain. "Not again…"

"Ward?" she mumbled, staring at the unblemished skin of her arms in wonder. Not a single burn mark marred her flesh - but how?

"Jemma?" The question was stunned and incredulous. It sounded like he was too scared to even hope that she was still alive, as he couldn't see her through the cloud of grey smoke. "Are you-?

She coughed as the vapour filled her lungs. "Aside from difficulties in breathing, I'm fine," she responded. Then, her scientific brain kicking in, she dropped to her hands and knees and crawled to the window, forcing it open with the heel of her palm to allow some of the noxious gas to escape.

Through the haze, she saw a dark figure stride towards the door and fling it open before turning to look at her through the slowly dissipating smoke. "Maybe I'm already a monster."

The door slammed shut behind him.

…

Ward's emotions felt like a frenzied hurricane within him, tearing him up from the inside. His grip on control was tenuous and barely regained, so he knew that he should try and avoid highly populated areas, but reasoning like that was currently escaping him.

Only one thought stuck - find Garrett. Kill Garrett. End this torment, this constant running, the ever-present fear.

In his distracted state, he paid no attention to where he was going. If he had, he would have tried to avoid stalking down a street crowded with people and little shops. He also wouldn't have taken a bit of care to remain inconspicuous, to not attract attention.

Unfortunately, he was much too caught up in his vengeance to think rationally.

Then, even in his current state of frenzied emotion, his instincts broke through, putting him on red alert. Someone was following him.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and, reacting automatically, he whirled around and reached out to grasp the arm of his assailant. His other hand rose up to circle around the attacker's throat, ready to crush the windpipe if necessary.

The attacker cried out, and the sound snapped Ward out of his reflexive response. For the first time, he took a good look at the woman he had at his mercy. "Skye?" he muttered, his grip loosening as his eyes widened almost imperceptibly in confusion. As soon as he was positive that he wasn't seeing things, he released his grip on her entirely, hoping that his heated skin hadn't been hot enough to burn her.

"Yes, idiot." Skye coughed and her hand rose up to rub her neck. Ward felt a little guilty, but he was relieved that she didn't seem to be seriously hurt. "Nice to see you, too, Ward. Where have you been?"

He tensed up, immediately feeling protective of Jemma and unwilling to say anything that might put her in danger. "What are you doing here?"

"No way, I asked first. Where the heck have you and Jemma been?"

Ward almost winced at the sound of her name, remembering what he had just done. Or nearly done. Somehow she'd managed to be okay, but it was no thanks to him, and that made him feel guilty and sick about what could have happened.

"Where's Simmons?" Skye's voice broke into his self-recrimination. He could hear the suspicion in her tone and it put him even further on the defensive.

Narrowing his eyes, Ward starting to walk away. Over his shoulder, he added, "That's none of your business." And it wasn't. Jemma's safety was up to him, and he was going to take care of her. He wouldn't let what had almost happened happen again.

"Umm, excuse me? How is that not my business?" Skye caught up to him and continued her verbal assault. "Leo and I were gone for less than two hours, but we came back to find that you guys had vanished. No calls, no texts, no 'hey we're running away' notes. We were completely freaked out! Of course it's my business! We were taken-" Ward, who had started tuning Skye out in an attempt to make her leave him alone, suddenly became very interested in the conversation. "-aback," Skye finished in a rush. "We were taken aback by your disappearance."

He shot her a disbelieving look. He didn't think for a second that Garrett would've passed up the chance to interrogate anyone who had associated with either himself or with Jemma. That suspicion, coupled with Skye's quick cover-up, made him even more suspicious of the brunette.

"Leo's been really freaked out," she changed the subject. "Having his best friend disappear like that. Could you - could you please just tell us what's going on? What happened to you guys?"

Ward paused, weighing his options. It was a risk. But he knew how much Jemma cared about Fitz, and how devastated she would be if she missed an opportunity to see her best friend. "Fine," he finally found himself muttering. "But not here." Skye looked at him questioningly. "I don't know if we're secure here," he provided by way of explanation. "I haven't scoped out this area at all. BUt we can meet tonight, somewhere public, and I'll bring Jemma." _After I make sure that no one is following us_, he added silently.

"Okay," Skye agreed. "Well, there's a block party tonight, near that bakery you just stormed past. I saw a flyer - it should be pretty big, and public. If we meet there at 10 tonight, will you have enough time to 'scope it out'?"

Ward paused, then nodded. That should be more than enough time to check it out and get back to Jemma. "That should work." He nodded and turned to leave.

"Ward!" Skye's voice interrupted him again. He bit back a sigh and glanced back to see what she wanted now. "It's a Halloween party, so we should probably wear costumes. You know, to blend in."

He frowned, but nodded thoughtfully and finally made his escape.

...

The door banged open.

Jemma squealed and shot out the shimmery shield that had protected her from Ward's blast earlier on reflex, hoping that it would protect her against the intruder.

A muffled curse met her ears as an unmistakably male form was thrown backwards out of the small bolthole and into the wall at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the outside world. "Guess I deserved that," a familiar voice winced.

"I am _so_ sorry," she gasped, running forward towards Ward and kneeling down beside him. However, she couldn't keep the slightly victorious smile off her lips. "I didn't know...it could have been anyone…"

Pushing himself to his feet, Ward shot her a rare, rueful smile. "You did the right thing. May have cracked a couple ribs, but…"

She stared at him, horrified.

"I'm kidding!" He held up his hands in defense. "I'm fine. But how did you…?"

Jemma jumped into full scientist mode at his half-formed question. "While initially I had supposed that the lab accident had given me invisibility powers only, this new evidence seems to suggest that my original hypothesis was incomplete. In fact, I now believe that I seem to have some sort of ability to extend a translucent concentration of energy out from my body in such a way that I am able to deflect heat and possibly-"

"-you have a forcefield," he finished flatly. "And invisibility. You're practically Susan Storm."

Jemma furrowed her brow and looked at him inquisitively, her confusion overriding her irritation that he'd cut off her technical explanation of her newly found power. "Who?"

"Susan Storm. Fantastic Four? Please say you've-"

"Never heard of it."

"Of course not." Ward looked slightly pained. "Although I guess, by the reasoning, I should be Johnny Storm and that…" he looked at her speculatively, "...seems wrong. Although, maybe I should try flying sometime…"

Now thoroughly lost, Jemma decided to move off the topic and address more pressing matters - such as the fact that he'd exploded on her and then'd ran away without so much as an apology. She crossed her arms and glared at him, shifting her weight onto one foot so her hip stuck out. "Now, I believe you owe me an apology…" she told him self-righteously.

A flash of pain-ridden guilt flashed in front of his eyes and he suddenly looked so haunted that Jemma just wanted to reach out to him, to reassure him that everything was going to be alright. Without consciously thinking about it, she did lay a hand on his arm. "I would never have forgiven myself if I'd hurt you," he whispered, bringing a thumb up to stroke the side of her face in a decisively uncharacteristically tender gesture that made her catch her breath and blush.

Jemma figured that was pretty good, as far as apologies went.

Then he pulled back, and the moment was gone.

"So," she started, feeling like she needed to say something to break the tense silence, "I was thinking we should test my new ability, maybe run some experiments. After all, forcefields won't do me much good without practice and a basic understanding of their strength and limitations certainly couldn't hurt."

"You want me to throw fire at you." Ward's voice was expressionless again, his former warmth lost completely as he looked at her like she was a crazy person.

"In a controlled experiment…"

"I could kill you," he argued. "I nearly did, before!"

"I wasn't even burned," she told him, dismissing the potential danger with a sniff. "It'll be fine."

He sighed. "Maybe later. Right now, we have to get dressed." Returning to the doorway, he bent down to pick up a bag that he must've been carrying before Jemma had attacked him on his way in. "Put this on."

He tossed her a package which she caught on reflex, ignoring the slight twinge from her healing shoulder at the motion. "What is…" she opened the package and squinted in confusion at the black clothing inside.

"It's Hallowe'en today."

"And that's supposed to explain the…" she took a closer look at the package, spotting the domino mask and cat ears, "Catwoman costume how?"

"We have to blend in."

"To what?" she demanded, starting to get irritated at his reticence. "For a moment, can you pretend that I have no clue what we're talking about and start from the beginning?"

"I ran into Skye today."

Jemma froze. "Was...was Fitz…?"

Ward shook his head. "No. But they are together, and we're meeting them at a Halloween block party tonight. Skye thought it'd be a good idea to blend in.

Forcing herself to breathe normally, Jemma sat still, thinking through the emotions flooding her brain. Relief. Definitely relief that Fitz was okay. However, there was also a hint of... disappointment? But why would she be disappointed? It couldn't be because that meant that her time with Ward would be over…

"I'm going to get changed - the meeting's in an hour and I want to scout the area before we leave," Ward interrupted her thoughts, standing and grabbing the bag containing his own costume. "You should too."

"Right," Jemma agreed absently. "I'll go..do that."

…

Ward couldn't help but stare. Only for a moment, but still… Skintight leather was a surprisingly good look for the scientist. He'd had to guess at her size, but apparently he'd done a decent job since the black leather hugged her every curve and the domino mask and cat ears were somehow both cute and sexy at the same time.

"Yep. Definitely _not_ Johnny Storm," he muttered under his breath, softly enough that she couldn't hear.

"Hmm?" she asked absently, and he noticed that while he'd been staring at her, she'd been doing the exact same thing to him.

He couldn't help but feel smug about that.

"Nothing," he covered. "Ready?"

"Giddye up, cowboy," she responded in a painfully awful attempt at a southern accent.

Ward eyed his fringed vest, faded leather jeans, and cowboy boots with distaste. The shop hadn't had much left in stock and so cowboy had been his only option, but that didn't mean he liked it. "Don't...don't do that."

"It was funny!" she defended herself. "Ooh, and don't forget your hat!" She plucked the large black hat off the couch, plopping it on his head with an infectious smile.

Holding his arm out to her resignedly, Ward waited until she took it before he started out the door. "It wasn't funny."

"Okay, how about a pun - I like your vest. You could even say that I have a..._vested _interest in it…"

Ward groaned. "That has got to be the worst pun I've ever- hey!" he yelped as she swatted him.  
"I'm funny," she grumbled under her breath.

This time, Ward didn't bother to argue with her.

...

"Stay close," Ward ordered, taking Jemma's hand in his. She felt a thrill, like a spark, initiating from the contact and spreading heat up her body.

The fact that his chiseled abs were clearly visible with every movement of his fringed vest certainly only made it worse.

How did someone even get that fit?

"I never realized Halloween was such a big deal," Jemma laughed nervously, pressing herself against Ward's arm as the press of the crowd threatened to pull her away from the security he offered. It wasn't really the crowd that made her feel anxious, though. It was the thought of seeing Fitz again after...everything that had happened. And there was a little pit of dread in her stomach because she was sure that as soon as Ward knew she was safe and sound, he would leave her.

"Where are we meeting?" she asked, glancing up at him and raising her voice to be heard over the noise.

"Just over-" he started to point, but as Jemma followed his gesture, she saw Fitz standing directly in front of her.

A flash of recognition appeared in his eyes as she smiled in greeting. "Fitz!" she cried in delight. "We were...it's been so long...how are-?"

"Jem-" Fitz's eyes widened, then hardened. "Not real," he said, shaking his head, " you're not real, you're not real, you're…" he kept mumbling his mantra, over and over again, as Jemma stared at him, hurt and confused.

"Fitz, it's me. Jemma." She stepped towards him, still not letting go of Ward's hand. "Are you okay?"

Fitz started backing away as she advanced, a look of panic spreading across his face. Then, without another word he turned and disappeared into the crowd.

"What...what just happened?" Automatically, Jemma stepped closer to Ward's solid presence, feeling the need for comfort. While she had been worried about Fitz before, it had just been the fear of not knowing. Now, however, she was convinced that there was something terribly wrong with him and that frightened her.

Ward never stopped scanning the crowd even as he answered. "Something's not right."

Nodding mutely, Jemma allowed him to put his arm around her shoulders and pull her against his side as they continued to make their way through the crowd towards the meeting place.

She felt numb. Her best friend had stood in front of her and...well, she didn't quite understand what had happened, but she knew that it hadn't been good.

"Just over there," Ward muttered in her ear. "Be on your guard. Your friend...he seemed off. I'm a little worried."

"We can trust him," she insisted without hesitating. "It's not a trap."

"I believe that you believe that."

"What are you saying?" she demanded a little more heatedly. She knew that Ward had spent his life on the run, but sometimes the guy was a little too paranoid.

He sighed. "It might not be his fault - he could've been followed, or manipulated, or...anything."

Jemma glared up at him. "And you're only telling me that this is a possibility now?"

"It wasn't important. There." He pointed ahead to where two figures were waiting at a table set up under a large tree, just on the outskirts of the main party. "Stay alert."

"Right. I can do that." Still, she couldn't help feeling some of Ward's paranoia rubbing off on her.

* * *

_Please review!_


	11. Chapter 11

_A/N: Yay, more Fitz and Skye! Let me know if you are liking the story! Or even reading it…_

_IMPORTANT NOTE: This fic is co-authored by __**therealshawn**__, and she and I are also co-authoring the other side of this fic on her account. It is called _"_**Monsters in your Head" **__and shows this same story from the Skitz viewpoint. I strongly suggest reading them both! This fic will be a complete story by itself, as will the other one, but they will complement each other, give you scenes that you normally wouldn't see, and give you large parts of the story that happen while the characters are split up._

_Enjoy! (And sorry for the long wait, but therealshawn and I are on opposite sides of the world at the moment and that makes coordination a little difficult...)_

* * *

Awkward silence.

Jemma had imagined this meeting going so many different ways since Ward had told her that he'd met up with Skye earlier that afternoon, and most of them had involved lots of hugging and feelings of comfort and relief. However, after seeing Fitz so…well, she didn't actually know how to describe how exactly Fitz had been acting, but something was wrong. Even Ward had picked up on it. Granted, he was paranoid and would think anything and anyone suspicious if they so much as coughed, but she still trusted his well-honed instincts more than her own.

But still, the awkward silence as she and Ward faced Skye and Fitz felt ominous, more like a confrontation than like a friendly meeting.

Skye laughed. In fact, she started giggling uncontrollably. "Oh my gosh, I didn't think you were actually going to dress up," she chuckled, wiping a trail of tears from her cheek as she eyed their costumes. "That's the best thing I've ever seen."

Jemma felt Ward bristle next to her. "It's camouflage," he claimed stiffly.

"And of course you chose 'camouflage' that shows off your abs," Skye grinned knowingly. Leaning in, she whispered confidently, "It really shows that you have a _vested_ interest in safety."

Despite how awkward she felt and how worried she was that Fitz wouldn't even meet her eyes, much less address her out loud, Jemma's lips quirked upwards in a victorious smile as she glanced up at Ward. For good measure, she dug her elbow into his well-muscled abs, just to emphasize that at least Skye understood her joke.

Ward threw his hands up in disgust. "It's…I…well, there wasn't- never mind," he sputtered, finally just giving up and glaring at Skye.

The uncomfortable silence returned, and Jemma had finally had enough. She had to know what was going on with Fitz, because the longer they stayed in silence, the more worried she became. "Fitz," she addressed her best friend, but he just flinched at the sound of his name. "Are you okay? When I saw you earlier…"

"Oh, erm, yes," he mumbled, glancing briefly up at her and then dropping her gaze. I'm...fine."

"Are you sure?" Jemma pressed, everything about his actions telling her that he was lying to her face. And that hurt. "You seem a little...distracted." Distracted wasn't the right word to describe him, but it was the most tactful way she could put it without scaring him away. Judging from his nervous eye movements, he looked like he was ready to bolt at any time. Suddenly needing comfort, Jemma leaned against Ward's arm, grateful when he unconsciously turned towards her instead of pushing her away.

At her statement, Fitz glanced at Skye, almost as if he was looking for…permission? Reassurance? Jemma couldn't tell, but she thought it was really odd. He didn't seem at all scared of the other woman; in fact, she was the only person there that he would look directly at. So then it had to be reassurance. "I'm fine. It's just...I'm okay," he shrugged, trying to look nonchalant, but Jemma could tell that he was still lying. "Just tired."

Ward's warm breath tickled her ear as he leaned in and muttered quietly, "He's lying." At Ward's confirmation of what Jemma already knew, she deflated and allowed the hurt and betrayal to seep further to the surface and show on her face. Ward tensed against her and his hand pressed against the small of her back comfortingly.

" He's not!" Skye broke in, obviously able to hear Ward and Jemma's thoughts if not their actual words. "What's wrong with you? Of course he's tired, the past 48 hours have been insane!"

Jemma's eyes widened, suddenly hoping that her best friend's unusual coldness might actually just be fatigue and not something more….serious. "Fitz, I'm your friend," she told him earnestly, leaning forward to try to catch his eye. "You know you can trust me."

At the same time, Ward jumped in to the conversation and spoke overtop of her. "What? Insane? What happened?"

At the onslaught of questions, worried from Jemma and accusing from Ward, Skye's face hardened and her eyes became more guarded. It was obvious, even to Jemma's inexperience, that she was hiding something. Something about Fitz. "Well, for starters, you two disappeared off the face of the earth," Skye avoided their questions. "What happened? Where did you go?"

"There were men-" Jemma started, but Ward cut her off.

"-nowhere." She glanced up at him questioningly, but he wasn't looking at her. Instead, he was scanning the surrounding crowd anxiously, his brow furrowed in the way the Jemma had come to interpret as 'trouble'. Thankfully, she knew that he would take care of everything and she didn't have to worry as long as he was there next to her.

Turning back to the conversation, Jemma winced as she saw both Fitz and Skye regarding them with suspicion. "There were men nowhere, huh?" Skye challenged. "How enlightening. Seriously, Ward, what's going on?"

Distractedly, Ward replied, "You're not exactly giving us a reason to trust you." He didn't do more than glance at Skye – his attention was riveted on the crowd. Jemma could feel him getting more and more tense.

"Of course we trust them!" she muttered to Ward, trying to defuse some of his tension and placate Skye's outrage. However, nothing she was doing seemed to work, and Jemma found herself quickly losing control of the situation.

"We haven't given you any reason not to trust us!" Skye claimed, glancing worriedly at Fitz. Jemma noticed the glance, one of many since the conversation had started, and felt tears start to well up in her eyes that she was determined not to let anyone else notice.

"Then what happened in the past 48 hours?" Ward's tone was cold, uncaring. It was a sign that he was done listening, done dealing with everything. Not good.

Looking pleadingly at Fitz, Jemma tried to convey her worry and caring, but it was a struggle to get him to look at her still. Despite her best efforts to stay calm, she felt Ward's suspicion start to get to her.

"We...I…" Skye's eyes flicked over to Fitz again, who was now paler and determinedly staring at his shoes. "There was a surveillance van outside the apartment. We-"

For the first time since the meeting started, Fitz spoke up in subdued tones. "Got taken. We were kidnapped in the middle of the night." His gaze rose and fixed on Ward, still ignoring Jemma. "By men who were looking for you."

Jemma didn't think it was possible for Ward to tense up any more than he already was, but somehow he managed it. However, Fitz speaking and sounding even slightly more normal made her perk up with a smile on her face. "Those are our men!" she told him excitedly. "They shot me in-"

Ward's arm latched around her waist protectively. "Jemma." There was a sharp quality in his voice that immediately told her to pay attention because something was off. "Danger." He scanned the crowd continuously as he tugged her away from Fitz and Skye before she could even explain what was happening, why they had to leave so suddenly. Not that she knew what was happening herself, but she trusted Ward's instincts…

…

Ward moved swiftly through the crowd, his years of practice allowing him to make a path through the people without taking his arm off Jemma's waist or losing track of the three men he'd seen that he was positive were working for Garrett. They radiated danger and their eyes were always alert - just like Ward's.

"What is going on?" Jemma finally demanded. Honestly, he'd been surprised that she hadn't started protesting earlier. "Where are we going? I have to explain...Fitz…"

"No time," Ward told her, pulling her closer against his side as the swarm of people threatened to separate them.

He heard Jemma sigh, and then all of a sudden, she stopped walking. Ward continued on, dragging her for a couple steps, but then she slipped out of his grasp, folded her arms in front of her chest, and stared him down.

"Jemma," his eyes darted nervously around, seeing men converging on them through the crowd, "can we please just-" he held out his hand impatiently to her, but she didn't move, didn't even say anything. "See those men?" he finally asked, stepping closer to her and lowering his voice. "All the ones that look like James Bond? They aren't wearing a costume. They're here, for us."

"But what about Fitz? And Skye?" she broke her silence at his explanation, and her worry came back full force. Ward could see it manifesting on her face.

"They're not after them. They want us, so the best thing we can do for them is get as far away from your friends as possible."

Jemma bit her lip and looked longingly backwards towards where Fitz and Skye were presumably still standing, confused, but then she nodded resolutely and took his proffered hand. "Okay," she agreed.

Ward took off through the crowd before the word had even left her lips. He had to get some distance between them and their pursuers before he could put his plan into action. "How's your invisibility going?" he asked as he pushed a group of teenagers out of their way, ignoring their cries of protest.

"That depends," she responded breathlessly. "Without my equipment, I still haven't been able to create a reasonable hypothesis for why fear seems to be such an effective stimulant, but-"

"Turn invisible," he ordered, cutting off her explanation. "Escape through the crowd and meet me at the bolthole. Be careful."

"What?"

He knew she'd argue - it was what she was best at. However, with more and more men coming for them, Ward knew that this was the only way to keep her safe. "I'll be fine," he told her, turning to her and cupping one of her cheeks in her hand. "I can take care of myself, but not if I'm protecting you as well."

She opened her mouth to argue again, but Ward leaned forward and placed a kiss on her forehead before he'd even realized that he was moving. "Stay safe," he repeated, his voice gruff.

A deep blush spread across her cheeks for an instant, and then it vanished, along with the rest of her.

…

Jemma alternated pacing, turning random parts of her body invisible, and practicing extending her newfound shimmery forcefield out in front of her. Alone in the bolthole, she didn't really have much else to do. She figured that anything was better than drowning in the fear she felt for Ward. And Fitz.

Even the thought of her best friend made fresh tears spring to her eyes and her force field snap back into her body with an impact that sent her to her knees, but she didn't bother to stand up. There was something...wrong. With Fitz. She hated to say that, or to even think like that, but she could tell - she had spent an incredible amount of time with him over the years, and she had never ever seen him act anything like that.

The door banged open.

Ward practically fell into the room.

Leaping to her feet, Jemma ran to his side and had to fight back a horrified gasp at the blood covering his face. She immediately put an arm around him and helped lead him to the couch so he could rest. A tiny part of her mind noted that he had somehow lost his cowboy vest and was now completely shirtless, but that part was overridden by her concern for the amount of blood on his chest stemming from a couple cuts.

"Most of it's not mine," he told her as they stumbled through the room, satisfaction clear in his voice despite the fact that he could barely stand up by himself. "You should've seen the other guys."

Jemma just swallowed heavily and prepared herself to start cleaning him up. After all, she was a scientist and she'd studied human bodies and dealt with blood before...admittedly, she hadn't done much with _live_ humans covered in blood, but in theory it should be similar. "Don't move," she ordered as he started to shift. "It'll just make things worse."

It was a testament to how exhausted he was that he didn't even try to argue.

Jemma returned only seconds later with Ward's impressively comprehensive first-aid kit that he'd used to clean her bullet wound. "I can clean the blood off," she told him, "but you're going to have to tell me how to bandage everything."

"It's nothing serious," he told her dismissively, his hand latching around her wrist as she reached up to start dabbing at his face. "I'm fine, really."

"Don't be an idiot." If fear made her rebuke a little sharper than she'd intended, she didn't care. "Stop being such a...such a man, and tell me what happened to make this Garrett so determined to kidnap you and apparently everyone associated with you? I think that I deserve an explanation at this point…"

"Grant Thomas," Ward suddenly mumbled, his eyes meeting hers. She saw a vulnerability there that she's never seen from him before. "My name. Before...everything."

"G. Thomas," she breathed, remembering the file she'd used to track Ward down. "So you are him."

Ward - no, Grant - nodded, then winced as the motion irritated a cut on his forehead and more blood started trailing down his face. "Garrett found me after...after…" he swallowed heavily, and Jemma knew instinctively that it wasn't the physical pain that made him ball up his hands into fists and squeeze his eyelids shut. "After my family died in a house fire. The night I discovered my powers."

Jemma felt like she'd been stabbed. "Wa- Grant, no," she immediately rushed to say. "It couldn't...it surely wasn't…"

"No one knows for sure," he replied unsteadily. "Maybe I caused it with my powers, or maybe my powers came from it. Either way…"

He cut off there, trapped in his guilt-ridden memories, and Jemma worked in silence for a while. There was nothing she could say to help him at the moment, but she could at least tend to his physical wounds.

Still, she couldn't help hurting along with him.

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_Please review!_


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